Thicker than water
by superdory57
Summary: Brother sister relationships are complicated, especially when you get the Power Rangers involved. Jason has spent most of his life keeping his half sisters from finding out about his other life. Now he finds out they are right smack in the middle of it! How will they deal with this, and what's going on with Tommy? Will Jason tell them the truth or will they learn the hard way?
1. Chapter 1

Alright everyone after a long time of not hearing from us we have another story! This was actually a request made by ScarletMoonRanger. "was wondering If you ever thought of writing a story where Tommy or Jason has a little sister back in the first season and she grew up in the seasons and maybe became a ranger." This is the result :) I will warn everyone now it does not start in the first season we have parts of them growing up through the years but we did it our way. I hope everyone enjoys it especially ScarletMoonRanger, I hope this was at least close to something you were looking for. hazergirl1220 and I went a little nuts so hang in there with us everything we bring up should be totally resolved by the end. :) As always R&amp;R we like feedback and constructive critisum (hint if you are just writing to say you hate it and you think we stink save the time and just stop reading, but if you have tips/corrections on helping us improve our writing/personalities send away!) This story is already totally done but we had an idea for an alternate ending we will be posting later!

Peace out!

~Superdory57~

Disclaimer: We do not own the Power Rangers in anyway We don't even have OCs to claim so we got nothing...

* * *

"Well, it's good to hear you're settling in," Jason smiled, leaning back in his chair. "And the job is going ok?"

"_Yeah, it's great," _was the answer. _"Maddy and I love working at the Rock Porium."_

"_V's right," _Madison agreed. _"And it's nice that Chip and Xander both work there, too."_

Vida and Madison, Jason's younger twin sisters, had called a short time before, just wanting to check in and talk to him. The girls had put him on speaker phone so they could talk to him at the same time.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves," he said. "Anything exciting going on?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"_Not a thing," _Vida finally answered. _"Just work and hanging out around the Rock Porium…"_

Jason frowned.

"Alright, what's going on?" he asked. "Who's got a boyfriend and doesn't want to tell me?"

"_No one!" _they both exclaimed.

"Uh-huh, sure," he said. "Then what classes is V failing?"

"_Hey!" _Vida exclaimed. _"I'm not failing anything. And—for your information—school is already out for the summer. Classes let out weeks ago."_

"Maddy?" Jason said.

"_She's right," _Maddy said. _"She didn't fail any of her classes. We made sure of it."_

"Then what's going on?" Jason said.

"_Nothing is going on," _Vida insisted.

"Sure it isn't," he retorted. "That's why when I asked if anything exciting was happening it took you like ten seconds just to answer 'no'."

"_We were—thinking," _Madison said.

"Yeah, sure," Jason said. "Now what's really going on?"

"_There's nothing going on!" _Vida exclaimed.

Jason scoffed, shaking his head.

"_You're going to come visit soon, right?" _Madison asked, changing the subject.

"I'll work on that," Jason sighed. "Things are a little crazy around here with kids out of school for the summer. There are a lot of extra classes here at the dojo. And with Trini and I getting ready for the baby, I don't have a whole lot of extra time…"

"_But you have to come see us," _Vida said. _"It's been forever. You haven't been here since we moved into the apartment…"_

"_Please?" _Madison pleaded. _"We really want you to come."_

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," Jason conceded, smiling. "I'll work something out with some of the other instructors and try and get out there within the month. That work for you?"

"_Yes," _they answered.

He chuckled.

"Then it's a date," he said. "But for now, I've got to get back to work. I love you both."

"_We love you, too," _Vida and Madison said.

"And stay out of trouble," Jason grinned.

"_Don't we always?" _asked Vida.

"Maddy, please keep an eye on V," Jason said. "I don't want to be getting any phone calls."

"_Hey!" _Vida exclaimed. _"You know, I'm feeling extremely picked on right now."_

"That's what big brothers are for," Jason laughed. "But seriously, watch out for each other."

"_We will, Jase," _Madison said softly. _"We always do."_

"I know you do, kiddos," he said. "I'll talk to you later. Love you both. Bye."

Still chuckling to himself, Jason hung up and set his phone off to the side. Eying the paperwork on his desk, he sighed and pulled a pile toward him. The plan was to get through as much as he could in the next hour before the evening classes started. But he'd barely gotten the pile sorted when his phone started ringing again.

"How am I supposed to get anything done if this thing won't shut up?" he muttered to himself, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Jase. What's going on?"_

"Tommy?" Jason said.

"_Yep," _Tommy said. _"Got a few minutes to talk?"_

Glancing down at his watch, Jason sighed and gave up on the paperwork.

"Sure, I've got a few," he said. "What's going on?"

"_Well, I've been trying to call you," _Tommy said. _"But the line has been busy."_

"Oh," said Jason. "Sorry about that, bro. I was on the phone with Maddy and V. They were just giving me an update on how the semester went and work and living on their own and everything."

"_Great," _Tommy said. _"So how are they doing? Is everything alright?"_

"Yeah, I think so," Jason sighed. "But they were being a little weird. I think one of them has a boyfriend and doesn't want to tell me…"

Tommy snorted.

"_Can't imagine why," _he laughed. _"Tell their overprotective big brother that they've got a boyfriend? They're probably not at the stage where he'd survive an interrogation."_

"Oh, shut up," Jason grumbled. "So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"_Actually, it kind of involves the girls," _Tommy said. _"They're still in Briarwood, right?"_

"Yes," Jason said slowly. "Their school is near there…A few of their friends go to the same school, so they decided to keep their apartments in Briarwood in order to keep their job at the Rock Porium over the summer. Why?"

"_Have you seen the news lately?" _Tommy asked. _"About what's going on in Briarwood?"_

Jason sat up a little.

"No, why?" he frowned.

"_Oh, I forgot," _Tommy said. _"You watch channel five, don't you? They don't usually cover Briarwood. That's closer to me—you should watch channel ten if you want news from there."_

"What's going on?" Jason asked again.

"_Just a few strange things here and there," _Tommy said. _"Earthquakes out of nowhere, odd sinkholes appearing for no reason, monsters running around town, people being turned to stone—nothing too unusual."_

"What?" Jason exclaimed. "You'd better not be saying what I think you're saying."

Tommy chuckled.

"_I went up there this past weekend to check things out," _he said. _"Wanted to do some snooping before I made any actual guesses—saw some very brightly colored people running around."_

Jason groaned, falling back in his chair and running a hand through his hair.

"Of course," he muttered. "They would end up somewhere with rangers…Now I'm going to have to go make sure nothing happens to them…"

"_Hey Jase?" _Tommy said. _"That's not all…"_

"What do you mean?" Jason asked, taking a deep breath.

"_I saw your sisters this weekend—just from a distance," _he said. _"I didn't want them to know I was there since I was there for ranger business."_

"And your point?" said Jason.

"_Vida seems to have taken a sudden liking to the color pink," _Tommy commented.

Jason nearly tipped his chair over. Vida had always had an aversion to the color pink ever since she was a little girl.

"What?" he almost shouted into the phone. "No. You cannot be saying—you'd better not be implying that. No."

"_Sorry, Rex," _Tommy said. _"But I'm saying it."_

"A ranger?" Jason muttered, shaking his head. "Vida is a power ranger?"

"_It's not just her, bro," _Tommy corrected. _"It's Maddy, too. And their two friends—what are their names? Chip is the one with the red hair and kind of spastic."_

"Yeah," Jason said.

"_And then there's the other one," _said Tommy. _"The irritating one—has the accent?"_

"Xander?" Jason frowned.

"_Right!"_ Tommy said. _"I can never remember his name…Anyways, I'm pretty sure they are, too. They've been hanging around with a new guy I don't recognize—_

"Ha!" Jason exclaimed. "There is a boy!"

"_Yeah, and you can't go hunting him down," _Tommy said. _"The girls are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. I even saw Maddy get irritated with the new kid while I was there. She practically shouted at him—"_

"What did he do?" Jason growled.

"_I don't know," _Tommy said. _"I think he said something she didn't like, though, because she stormed out of the Rock Porium—nearly ran me over and never even noticed."_

"I'm going to kill that kid," Jason said, his eyes narrowing.

"_Breathe, Jase," _Tommy sighed. _"Besides, I'm pretty sure dealing with him is the least of her concerns right now. Remember what I said about people turning to stone?"_

"Yeah…" Jason said slowly, not sure he liked where this was going.

"_Maddy disappeared for a good portion of the day right around the same time all of that was happening," _Tommy said.

"What?" Jason exploded, actually knocking over his chair this time as he leapt to his feet.

"_Calm down," _Tommy said quickly. _"She's alright. I saw her before I left and she was just fine."_

"I don't care," Jason snapped. "I'm going over there and—"

"_Jason, you can't just barge in like that," _Tommy said. _"I didn't even approach them while I was there. Though that was mostly because I didn't have any of my old morphers with me—well, except the Zeo one. I could have called that, but Hayley would have killed me when I came home exhausted from trying to use those without the crystal—"_

"I don't care," Jason snapped, pacing around his office. "They should not be involved in things like this. It's not safe."

"_Come on, bro," _Tommy said. _"Maddy and V know how to take care of themselves. Not to mention they're older than we were when we started out. They'll be fine."_

"I'm still going out there," Jason said shortly. "I need to make sure they're alright."

"_Yeah, I know," _Tommy sighed. _"Just remember, you're only going out there to visit as their big brother. You can't go barging in there as a ranger—not by yourself. We'll approach them when the time is right."_

Jason sighed, muttering under his breath.

"_And this is why I decided to call instead of telling you in person," _Tommy said. _"I didn't want to have to spar with you right after breaking the news."_

"Yeah, well, my students aren't going to be too thrilled to see me tonight," Jason muttered. "I need to get going—I'm heading out to Briarwood as soon as I can get away from here."

Tommy sighed again and Jason knew he was rolling his eyes.

"_Just remember, they aren't helpless," _Tommy said. _"We taught them how to defend themselves. The girls will be just fine. And try not to embarrass them too much. I'll talk to you later."_

"Yeah," Jason sighed. "Thanks for the call…"

"_Relax, Rex," _Tommy chuckled. _"At least neither of them is evil."_

"Shut up, Falcon," Jason growled. "Before I drive up there to take my irritation out on you."

Tommy laughed. Saying goodbye, they both hung up. Groaning, Jason dropped back into his chair and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Alright," he muttered to himself. "Maybe if I call Rocky or Adam they can take my classes this weekend—I should be able to convince one of them. Especially if I mention my sisters…Then I can leave Friday night and spend the weekend with them. Yeah, that should work…"

Sighing again, Jason started dialing.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Meeting the Twins**_

_"Remember, Jason," Mr. Rocca said as they approached the door. "You can't jump on the bed, ok? Mom is still resting."_

"_I won't," Jason promised._

_Nodding, Mr. Rocca opened the door and held it open for Jason to walk inside. The eight-year-old's attention immediately went to the single bed in the room where his mom was sitting, leaning back against a pile of pillows. He looked around curiously, but everything in the room was foreign to him. He hadn't seen a hospital room before._

"_Come on over, Jason," Mrs. Rocca smiled, watching her son. "Come meet your sisters."_

_With his stepfather following, Jason padded over to the bed. He paused next to the bed, frowning at the two small pink bundles in his mother's arms. _

"_Why are they so small?" he asked, leaning on the bed for a closer look._

_Mr. and Mrs. Rocca laughed, exchanging looks._

"_They won't stay that small long," Mr. Rocca said._

"_Do you want to hold one of them?" Mrs. Rocca asked._

_Jason nodded and she shifted a little on the bed, making room for him to climb up next to her. Mr. Rocca helped him get settled next to his mother. Once Jason was situated, Mr. Rocca reached over to take one of the small pink bundles from his wife and placed the baby carefully in the eight-year-old's arms. Jason took the baby cautiously, holding her tightly against him for fear of dropping her._

"_That's Vida," Mrs. Rocca smiled. "And this is Madison."_

"_Vida and Madison," Jason repeated, nodding as he looked down at his little sister. _

_He watched her for a moment, her eyes still closed, and then looked up at his mother._

"_Are you sure I don't get a brother?" he said. "Boys are more fun…"_

_His parents chuckled, shaking their heads. _

"_You'll have plenty of fun with them—even if they are girls," Mrs. Rocca said gently. "And you have friends who are boys. Besides, you get to have something even better than someone new to play with."_

_Jason frowned._

"_What?" he said. _

"_You get to be their big brother," she said. "And as their big brother, it's your job to look after them and take care of them when dad and I aren't around. Can you do that?"_

_Jason nodded, a very serious look on his face._

"_I'll always look out for them," he said solemnly. "Promise."_

_Mrs. Rocca smiled as he looked back down at Vida. As he watched, the tiny little girl in his arms blinked her eyes and opened them. She stared at Jason for a moment as a smile spread across his face. _

"_Hi, Vida," he said, her cheek resting against his chest. "I'm your big brother."_

_As he spoke, Vida made a small sound and suddenly spit up all over the front of his shirt. Jason immediately froze, the smile falling from his face._

"_Mom!" he cried in horror. "She threw up on me!"_

_Mr. Rocca quickly took Vida out of Jason's arms and handed her back to his wife. Jason was still trying very hard not to move as he stared down at the spit-up that was soaking into his favorite red shirt. _

"_It's on me, it's on me!" he exclaimed. "Get it off. It's gross!"_

"_It's just spit-up, bud," Mr. Rocca said, grabbing a towel to wipe it up. "It's not like she pooped on you."_

_Jason's eyes widened as he looked up at his stepfather in horror._

"_She can do that?" he said in surprise. "I am never holding her again!"_

_Mrs. Rocca laughed quietly, shaking her head as her husband continued cleaning up Jason. Mr. Rocca just shook his head. _

"_We're off to a great start," he muttered, helping Jason off the bed to go finish cleaning up. "Great start…"_

* * *

Parking his car, Jason climbed out and looked around. The sign for the store caught his eye. Grabbing a bag off of the front seat and shutting the door behind him, he headed into the Rock Porium. He'd barely made it a few feet inside when he was suddenly hit by a smaller figure.

"Jason!" Madison cried, hugging him tightly.

"You're here!" Vida exclaimed, hurrying over to join in the hug.

Smiling, Jason set down the gift bag he was carrying and picked them both up in a hug and spun them around as they squeaked in surprise. Laughing at them, he put his little sisters back on their feet.

"Hey, kiddos," he said. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course," Madison smiled.

"Jason!" Chip grinned, running over.

"Hey, Chip," Jason said.

He opened his arms for a hug, but Jason just raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not hugging you, kid," he said.

So Chip hugged Jason, instead. Rolling his eyes, Jason sighed.

"Chip, let go," he said, smiling a little anyways.

"Hey, Jason," Xander said, walking over.

"Xander," Jason nodded, shoving Chip away.

Chip just laughed, catching himself. Jason smiled, glancing around at his sisters and their friends.

"So how are things going?" Jason asked. "Keeping busy?"

"Oh, we're keeping busy," Chip said, grinning. "Real busy."

Vida elbowed him.

"Not that busy," she said quickly. "Mostly just working here."

"Work?" someone interrupted. "What work? I don't see anyone working."

They all glanced around to see a man standing there with his arms crossed, glaring at them.

"Don't worry, Toby," Xander reassured him. "We'll get it done. Just give us a little while—no one is here anyways."

"Fine, fine," Toby grumbled. "But I'd better see you working when I come back out here."

Jason watched as he disappeared into the backroom.

"And that is?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's Toby," Madison answered. "He's our boss."

Jason nodded.

"So how is DJing going?" Jason asked, glancing at Vida. "And your filming, Maddy?"

"Great," Vida answered. "I love the set up here at the Rocky Porium. Maddy's been filming all of us—she's got some of me at work."

"And they turned out great," Chip added.

Maddy blushed, ducking her head.

"You'll have to show me some of your films," Jason said fondly, putting an arm around Maddy's shoulders. "Oh, V—Tommy sent this for you."

He held out a CD case to her.

"What is it?" she asked, glancing at the cover. "Wait a minute—this CD isn't on the market yet. It's not due out for a month!"

She looked up at Jason who was grinning at her.

"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "But Tommy got a few advanced copies and requested one for you. You'll probably want these, too."

He dug several more CD's out of the bag sitting on the floor, handing them over. Vida took them excitedly, glancing through them. Her eyes widened as she opened one of the cases. She quickly opened the rest of them, looking at all of the CD's.

"Jason," she said, looking back up. "These are all signed. Tanya Park—Kimberly Hart—Kira Ford—how did Tommy get all of these?"

"He just made a few phone calls," Jason smiled. "They were happy to send them—that's how he got Kira's new CD, too. She was already planning on sending him an advanced copy, so she just sent an extra along."

"Tommy knows them?" Vida exclaimed.

"Of course," Jason said. "So do I—well, I've know Kim and Tanya for years. I've met Kira, but I don't know her that well. She's one of Tommy's students."

"What?" she said, eyes wide. "Kira Ford is one of Tommy's students?"

"Well, was," Jason corrected. "She graduated a few years ago. Tommy actually paid for her demo. He then gave that to Tanya, who gave it to her husband and manager, Adam, who signed Kira without hesitation."

"Cool," Chip grinned, looking at the CD's over Vida's shoulder. "I didn't know you and Tommy knew famous people."

"You'd be surprise," Jason chuckled. "You guys have met a couple of them, too, though it's been quite a few years since you've seen them. But you two know Adam, Tanya's husband, fairly well from the dojo."

Madison and Vida exchanged sheepish looks.

"Guess we never thought about that," Vida said. "I never put together that she was the same person…"

Jason chuckled, shaking his head.

"Anyways," he said. "Maybe if Kira is free sometime this summer Tommy can bring her out for a visit. I can talk to Tanya and Kim, too."

"That would be the best present ever!" Vida exclaimed, hugging Jason again.

He smiled, hugging her back. When she let go, Jason reached back into the bag and pulled out something else, handing it to Madison.

"And this is for you," he said. "It's been a while since you've gotten a new camera—Tommy thought you'd like an upgrade."

"This is—this is wonderful!" Madison smiled, turning the video camera over in her hands. "Look at all of the features on it."

"And it's all charged up and ready to go," he said.

Turning on the camera, Madison started playing with some of the settings, pointing it at different people as she tested it out. Jason smiled as he watched. The door from the back room opened again.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" a young man asked. "Oh, you must be Jason. Maddy and V said you were coming."

He strode over to them, grinning. Jason eyed him, the smile slipping from his face.

"Oh, right!" Madison exclaimed, momentarily putting down her new camera. "Jason, this is Nick. He's new in town."

"It's nice to meet you," Nick said, holding out his hand.

"Mmm hmmm…" Jason said, looking at his hand briefly before turning away. "So when do you two get off work? I want to take you out to dinner."

Nick frowned, slowly letting his hand dropped.

"Umm…Not too much longer," Madison answered.

"But we could probably slip out now," Vida said. "Right guys?"

She looked at the boys expectantly.

"You'll cover for us, right?" she persisted.

Xander, Chip, and Nick exchanged glances.

"Why not?" Xander shrugged. "It's not like there's a lot left to do before we close. But you'll owe us."

"Thanks, guys!" Madison beamed. "We'll be back later."

"Call us if anything comes up," Vida said, glancing at Nick. "We'll have our phones."

He nodded and Jason frowned again. Putting an arm around each of his sisters' shoulders, he turned and led the way out the door. Madison and Vida started chatting excitedly as they left.

* * *

"So when is the last time you talked to mom?" Vida grinned, taking another bite of her dinner.

They were sitting down at a local restaurant, catching up and just enjoying spending time together. Jason glanced up at Vida's question, sighing.

"I don't know," he said, running a hand through his hair. "A week or two? Why?"

"Cause you are in so much trouble, big bro," she laughed. "We just talked to mom last night."

"Mom said it's been at least a month since she's heard from you," Madison said.

Jason frowned.

"It can't have been," he said. "No way."

"Yes way, big brother," Vida smirked. "And she has proof on her phone if you really want to argue."

"I guess I should probably call her then…" he sighed. "Before she really gets mad…"

"You really should," Vida agreed.

"Though she did talk to Trini last week," Madison said, shrugging. "So she's probably up to date on everything—but you still should call her."

"I will soon," said Jason, rolling his eyes. "You two are pests, you know that?"

They laughed.

"It's not our fault she's heard from Tommy more recently than you," Vida snorted.

"Wait—what?" Jason exclaimed. "When did Tommy call her?"

"Last week," Madison said. "Just to check in and see how things were going."

Jason muttered under his breath.

"I'm gonna kill him," he grumbled. "He's making me look bad."

"Only a lot," Vida laughed.

"Hey, you two should be on my side," Jason grumbled. "And I'm sure Tommy calls his own mother as rarely as I do."

Madison started shaking her head.

"That's part of why mom's so upset," she said. "I guess Tommy calls his mom at least once every couple of weeks if not more—mom can barely get you to call once a month…"

Jason threw his hands up in the air.

"You know, I should have just said those presents were from me," he said. "Tommy doesn't need any help staying on everyone's good side."

The girls laughed.

"Sorry, Jason," Madison said. "But that wouldn't have worked…"

"Why not?" Jason asked.

"Tommy put notes in the CD cases," Vida smirked.

"And there was one tucked into the strap of my camera," Madison added.

Jason rolled his eyes.

"The guy can't remember to take his briefcase to work," he muttered. "But he can remember that?"

The twins laughed harder.

"He's so dead," Jason said, shaking his head. "Anyways, enough about me and how much trouble I'm in with mom—what's with the new kid?"

Vida and Madison exchanged glances.

"Umm…Nick?" Madison asked. "What about him?"

"What do you know about him?" Jason asked, looking at them expectantly.

They shrugged.

"Not a lot, I guess," Vida said. "He's new in town. Only been here a couple of months. Showed up on his motorcycle out of the blue."

"But he's sweet," Madison added. "We've all been—hanging out. He fits in well with us. Kind of like he's supposed to be part of our group."

Jason frowned.

"I want you two to be careful around him," he said. "You don't know anything about him."

"We know a lot more than you think," Madison protested.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jason asked suspiciously.

Vida rolled her eyes.

"Relax, big brother," she said. "He's just a friend."

"Uh huh—sure," he retorted.

"He is," Madison insisted.

"And besides," Vida said. "We can take care of ourselves, remember? You and Tommy made sure of that."

"Yeah, I know," Jason said. "But you still hardly know him. And the kid rides a motorcycle—"

"So do you," Vida retorted. "What's wrong with that?"

"Sis is right," Madison said. "Actually, Nick kind of reminds me of Tommy."

"Oh, because that makes me feel so much better," Jason muttered.

The girls frowned.

"What's wrong with Tommy?" Madison asked.

Jason snorted.

"There are so many things I could say to that," Jason said, shaking his head. "But—"

A beeping ring went off. Vida and Madison exchanged glances. Reaching into her pocket, Vida pulled out a small phone. She glanced at it, and then up at Madison. Jason raised an eyebrow, waiting for one of them to say something.

"Is everything alright?" he finally asked.

"Umm…yeah," Madison said. "It's just—well…"

"We need to get going," Vida said quickly. "Something came up—at the…we need to get going."

Jason shrugged.

"Go on," he said. "I'll take care of the bill. Do you two want your leftovers?"

"That would be great!" Vida exclaimed, pulling Madison out of her chair. "We'll catch up to you later, big bro!"

They both darted out of the restaurant. Sighing, Jason caught the waiter's attention. After paying for dinner, he took the leftovers and headed out to his car.

"He was right," he muttered to himself. "How is it that Tommy is always right about this stuff? Get a ranger involved and suddenly he's all knowing."

Still muttering himself, he climbed into his car to head to the hotel for the night. As he started to drive away, he pulled his phone out and dialed.

"Hey, bro," Jason sighed when Tommy answered. "You were right…"


	3. Chapter 3

Jason shifted in the front seat of his car, glancing up and down the street again as he watched for his sisters. He hadn't seen them again after dinner the night before. And he also hadn't been able to find them that morning. So he was waiting outside the Rock Porium for them to come to work.

"_Sweetheart, you need to relax,"_ Trini said over the phone. _"Everything is going to be fine."_

"It is not fine," Jason said shortly. "Trini, they're rangers! They are not ok."

She sighed and he knew she was rolling her eyes at him.

"_And so are we," _she said. _"And we started at a younger age, too. We came out alright."_

"We nearly died countless times!" Jason exclaimed. "What happens if they get themselves hurt—or worse?"

"_They're going to be fine," _Trini said again. _"Just like we were."_

"But we had Zordon!" Jason snapped. "They don't have anyone."

"_How do you know that?" _Trini asked patiently.

"Alright, so maybe I don't," he scowled. "But even if they do, they aren't Zordon."

Trini paused, taking a deep breath.

"_No, they aren't," _she said quietly. _"But they'll be fine, you'll see. The others have turned out fine. Dino Thunder, Ninja Storm, Lightspeed Rescue, Wild For—ok, so I can't really speak for Wild Force because frankly there are days where I'm not sure how they made it, but you get my point."_

"Dino Thunder had Tommy," Jason muttered.

"_Jason, they'll be fine," _Trini said soothingly. _"Vida and Madison can take care of themselves. You know that. They learned from the best."_

"I know," he sighed. "But I'm still not happy about this…"

"_No one said you had to be," _Trini said softly. _"But you have to let them do this—you can't interfere."_

"And I won't," Jason said. "But if anything happens to them, someone is going to pay."

"_And Tommy will be right there with you," _she said. _"And the rest of us behind you. You know he adores Maddy."_

Jason chuckled faintly.

"Yeah, he does," he said. "She's his favorite."

"_And you can't tell me you don't have the same thing with V," _Trini said. _"Between the two of you, those girls will never have to worry about having their hearts broken—all of the boys are going to be too scared to risk it."_

Jason took a deep breath, sighing as he glanced down the street again. He caught sight of Madison and Vida coming down the sidewalk, laughing and talking.

"I've gotta go," he said. "They're here."

"_Alright," _Trini said. _"Have fun and be safe. Don't drive them too crazy. I love you."_

"Love you, too," Jason answered.

Hanging up, he climbed out of his car and jogged over to meet his sisters. Catching up, he fell into step next to them.

"Where have you two been?" he asked. "I've been trying to find you all morning."

"Sorry," Madison said. "We got a little sidetracked this morning…"

"Aren't you late for work?" he said. "I thought the shop opened hours ago."

"It did," Vida said. "But we aren't."

"Unless we don't get inside," Madison said, glancing down at her watch.

Vida grabbed Madison's arm in response, towing her twin after her as she bolted into the store. Chuckling, Jason followed them. Xander was already inside. He turned to look as they walked in the door.

"There you are," he said to the girls. "Where have you been?"

Jason smirked as both Madison and Vida rolled their eyes. He knew there was a reason he liked Xander—he kept an eye on the girls. Chip was there, too, leaning on one of the counters.

"We were—studying," Vida finally said.

"You were what?" Jason said, raising an eyebrow. "Studying? During the summer?"

"Maddy made me," Vida protested, looking at Madison expectantly.

"Right," Madison agreed. "We're both planning on taking a lot of classes in the fall—I just want to be ready…"

"See, coming from Maddy it doesn't surprise me," Jason said. "But you, V…"

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Jason laughed.

"Sorry, kiddo," he said. "But you and I both know your study habits leave something to be desired."

She grumbled, shooting a glare at him as she scooted over to her DJ equipment.

"So how did the—studying—go?" Chip asked eagerly. "Did you get a lot done?"

The girls shrugged.

"Not really," Madison sighed. "We just seem to keep going over the same things time and again…"

"Then maybe you should try a different subject," Jason said, leaning back against a wall. "That's what Billy always told us in high school when he was helping us with—well, homework... If one way doesn't work, try another one—eventually you figure something out. We always made it work."

All four of them looked at Jason, who just shrugged. His phone started ringing and Jason straightened up. Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced at the caller ID.

"I've gotta take this one," he sighed, heading for the door. "Hey, Adam. What's going on?"

He frowned, pausing to open the door.

"Rocky got his head stuck in what?" he exclaimed as the door opened before he could grab the handle. "How on earth—well, tell him he's not supposed to try and stick his head between the bow staffs!"

Nick walked in, looking at Jason in surprise. Jason just glared at him, stalking out the door as he continued talking to Adam.

"I don't care what got kicked back there," Jason snapped. "He's perfectly capable of moving them instead of trying to shove his way in."

Sighing, Nick let the door shut behind him, blocking out Jason's conversation.

"What is his problem?" Nick said, looking at Vida and Madison. "He keeps glaring at me like that and I can't figure out why."

"I don't know," Madison said. "Jason usually likes everyone…"

"Yeah," Vida agreed. "It's Tommy you've got to impress—I think you've just caught Jason at a bad moment."

"Yeah right," Nick scoffed. "I'm pretty sure he just doesn't like me."

"If Jason doesn't like you, he'll tell you," Madison insisted. "And like V said, it's Tommy who's hard to impress."

"He doesn't even like Xander," Vida added. "And Tommy's known Xander since he was a kid—so Tommy's going to be the hard one to win over."

"Right," Xander agreed. "Wait—what?"

He looked at Vida and Madison in surprise.

"Tommy doesn't like me?" he exclaimed.

Madison shrugged apologetically while Vida laughed.

"Sorry, no," she said.

"But—since when?" Xander asked.

The twins exchanged glances.

"Since we were little," Vida said. "You'll have to ask him about it next time you see him, though, because I really can't remember why…"

"He likes Chip, though," Madison said.

"Yes!" Chip exclaimed, punching the air.

"But he's the annoying one!" Xander protested.

The girls laughed as Chip frowned at Xander.

"That's probably why he likes him," Vida said. "Tommy never seems to have a problem with the oddballs. You should meet some of his friends."

"Hold up," Nick interrupted. "Who's Tommy?"

"He's Jason's best friend," Madison said. "Kind of like another big brother—he's been around for almost as long as I can remember."

They all sat down to talk. The shop was empty, though they could see Jason pacing just outside. Toby had left Xander in charge for a little bit while he went to get something to eat.

"So you're telling me that, if I want to hang out with the two of you, I have to get past both of them?" Nick said.

"No, just one," Vida answered. "Well, as long as that one is Tommy… He's better at changing Jason's mind…"

Nick frowned.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, if Tommy really doesn't like or approve of someone, Jason generally ends up agreeing with him in the end," Madison explained. "It's kind of odd sometimes—Tommy always seems to know when someone is going to turn out to be a problem…I really don't understand how he does it."

Vida shrugged, falling back in her chair.

"Doesn't matter anyways," she said. "They've never chased away any of our friends before—at least not the ones we really wanted around. Like Xander."

"Though they really are perfectly capable of it," Madison said absently. "I mean, Jason's a fifth degree black belt now."

"And Tommy's a seventh, right?" Vida said, glancing at Madison for conformation. "Which is why it's kind of surprising that he usually let's Jason do the scaring—though I guess big brother usually does look a lot more threatening. His muscles are more obvious than Tommy's."

Madison nodded in agreement.

"Wait a minute," Nick interrupted. "Black belts?"

The girls nodded.

"Yeah," Vida said. "Didn't we mention it before? Jason is a fifth degree black belt in karate. He's also got black belts in at least one other style—tai chi, I think. Trini was teaching him. And he's got belts in a lot of other styles, too. We did tell you he owns a dojo, didn't we?"

"And Tommy is even harder to keep track of," Madison added, shaking her head. "He's a seventh degree black belt in karate and he's got black belts in I don't even know how many others…but I do know that he knows tai chi, BBJ, mauy thai, and a whole bunch of others."

Nick stared at them in shock. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head.

"They're going to kill me," he muttered. "And I didn't even do anything."

"Oh, relax," Vida said. "Jason won't do anything until Tommy passes judgment. They're funny like that."

"Unless you hurt one of us," Madison said. "Or make one of us cry—then there won't be any stopping him… Jason can be a little overprotective…"

"A little?" Xander said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ok, a lot," Madison corrected herself, thinking back to several occasions. "And Tommy really isn't any better…but we love them anyways."

Nick groaned, his face in his hands.

"So, we shouldn't mention the whole 'shy' incident from a few weeks ago?" Chip grinned.

Madison and Vida immediately shook their heads.

"No," Madison said. "We shouldn't… Especially to Tommy."

"He'd flip," Vida added.

Nick took a deep breath, shaking his head.

"Fine," he said. "We won't mention it. But you know what? I really don't care. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. We're a team whether your brother and his friend like it or not."

The other four smiled, nodding in agreement as the door opened. Jason walked back in, shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

"Why do I put up with him?" he grumbled to himself.

"Because Rocky is one of your best friends," Madison smiled. "Even if he does stupid things sometimes."

Jason chuckled, settling back into his place against the wall. He didn't look at Nick, but focused on the other four.

"Only sometimes?" he said. "I don't know about that. Wait until you hear what he did a few months ago."

* * *

"Leelee, we're closed," Nick sighed.

Vida, who'd been talking with Jason, and Xander both turned to look. Nick had been going to lock the door when she came strolling inside.

"Well that's perfect, then," she beamed. "You can come with me to see this new DJ."

She held out a flyer to him. But Nick started shaking his head.

"Can't," he said, locking the door and flipping the sign to closed. "I've got plans."

"But…" Leelee pouted as he turned and stepped into the backroom.

"Don't waste your time on him, Leelee," Xander said, leaning on the counter. "But you can always try sweet talking me."

She rolled her eyes.

"Alright," she said. "You can come with me."

"Cool," Xander grinned.

"No he can't," Nick interrupted, coming back out. "He's the one I have plans with."

Xander sighed, but didn't argue. The poster in Leelee's hand had caught Vida's attention and she walked over to take a look. Jason followed her over, leaning against the wall by the door.

"A new DJ?" Vida said curiously.

"Yeah, DJ Fly," Leelee said excitedly.

"Is he any good?" Vida asked.

"He's only the hottest new act in town," she answered.

Vida took the poster from Leelee to take a closer look.

"You've got plans, too, V," Nick said, shaking his head. "Remember? You promised."

He looked meaningfully at her, his gaze briefly flicking to Jason and back. Vida sighed.

"Yeah, I know…" she said.

"And now we've got to get going," Nick said, ushering Leelee out the door. "Maybe next time."

She started to protest, but Nick shut the door.

"Are you two ready to go?" he asked. "Maddy and Chip are waiting for us."

Vida sighed.

"I'm ready," Xander said. "See you tomorrow, Jason?"

"I'll be here," Jason said. "Here all weekend."

"Great," Xander grinned, heading out the door.

"You coming, V?" Nick asked, holding the door open.

"Yeah, I'm coming," she said, still holding the poster. "I'm going to walk with Jason to his car and then I'll catch up, alright?"

He nodded, heading out. Vida and Jason followed behind him.

"So what are you guys doing tonight?" Jason asked as they walked down the street.

"Not a whole lot," Vida shrugged. "Just a project we're helping a friend with—we're a little stuck on it right now."

"Anything I can help with?" Jason asked, putting an arm around her shoulders as they walked.

Vida smiled, shaking her head.

"No, we'll figure it out," she said. "Thanks, though."

"Anytime," he said, stopping next to his car. "Have fun with your friends."

"I will," Vida said, grinning. "See you in the morning."

Giving him a quick hug, Vida spun and hurried off in the other direction—away from her friends. Jason shook his head.

"She's not going to meet them," he muttered. "I really hope it's not important—or that no one's life depends on it…No. She wouldn't blow it off if someone was in danger."

Glancing down the street after her, Jason shrugged and climbed into his car to head back to his hotel for the night.

* * *

Madison jumped in surprise when her phone went off in her pocket. They were at Rootcore, working on the Fire Heart Scroll again—though they still hadn't gotten any further. Setting aside the book she was looking through, Madison pulled her phone out. She was a little surprised it had actually rung. Their normal phones didn't always work in the magical realms.

"Hello?" she said.

"_Maddy?" _Jason said.

"Oh, Jason!" she exclaimed. "Umm… Hi."

"_Where are you?" _he asked.

Madison glanced around Rootcore, trying to come up with somewhere. Nick, Xander, and Chip were looking at her.

"I'm with Chip, Xander, and Nick," she finally said.

"_Mmm hmm…" _Jason said. _"Is Vida with you? She wasn't at the store with you guys earlier today. Actually, I haven't seen her since last night…"_

Madison frowned.

"No," she answered. "I think I heard her come in late last night, but I didn't see her…"

"_That's weird," _said Jason. _"Should I swing by your apartment and see if she's alright?"_

"No, that's alright," Madison said hurriedly. "I'm sure she's asleep by now. I'll check on her as soon as I get home."

"_Alright," _Jason said slowly. _"But am I gonna see the two of you anytime soon? As much as I'd love to, I can't stay forever…"_

Madison sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Jason," she said. "I know we keep disappearing…"

"_It's alright," _he quickly reassured her. _"You don't need to feel bad about it. I just wanted to remind you that I'm going to have to head out sometime tomorrow."_

"Oh…" she said. "Well, how about I meet you for breakfast? I'll make sure Vida comes, too."

"_Sounds great," _Jason said. _"Don't be late."_

"I won't," she smiled. "See you in the morning."

Hanging up, Madison sighed and put her phone away, turning back to the book she'd been going through.

"I give up," Xander sighed, shutting his book. "Maybe we're not meant to find the secret of the Fireheart…"

Nick grabbed another stack of books, passing them around.

"Come on," he said firmly. "Don't give up. Never give up."

"Wow," Madison said, glancing at Nick. "Nick, that's inspiring."

"Yeah…" he muttered, turning to go back to the other desk. "That's what I thought when Udonna yelled it at me this morning when I was ready to quit… By the way, where is Udonna?"

Madison shrugged.

"Last time I saw Udonna, she was teaching Clare another invisibility spell," she answered.

The four rangers exchanged looks.

"Which could be the problem right there," Chip grinned.

Vida came strolling in, drawing their attention from the books.

"Yo, crew," she said casually. "Sorry I'm late."

Nick scoffed, coming back to join the others again.

"Late?" he said. "We haven't seen you since yesterday. That's beyond late. So much for giving us your word."

Vida sighed, sitting down at the table.

"Relax," she said. "You're not my dad. So I missed a night of saving the world. Good news is the world's still here."

Exchanging glances again, the four looked at Vida in surprise.

"Uh, V," Xander said slowly. "It's not that you missed last night. You missed all day, too. It's nighttime again."

"I was worried about you," Madison added. "And so is Jason. He's been trying to find you all day and I've had to keep telling him I had no idea where you were…V, you know how Jase can get…"

Vida sighed, leaning forward.

"Look," she said. "I'm sorry. I gave my word and I blew it. It won't happen again. And I'll call big brother later—he's probably asleep by now."

"Hey. No problem, V," Chip smiled. "We all make mistakes."

She smiled back.

"Agh!" Nick exclaimed, doubling over in pain and holding his head.

The voice of Koragg echoed through his mind.

"_Here me, red ranger, or all of Briarwood will be sorry."_

Once Koragg had relayed the entire message, Nick pulled himself upright again, still wincing a little.

"Your brother is going to have to wait," he said. "Let's go."

When they reached the designated location, Koragg was nowhere to be seen. Then a whole group of Hidiacs appeared. The rangers all dropped into defensive positions.

"Let's ranger up!" Nick called.

Vida took a step forward.

"Why bother?" she scoffed, charging the Hidiacs.

She hit them hard, taking them down quickly—without help from the other rangers.

"Man, look at V go!" Nick exclaimed.

"This catching-up-on-your-sleep thing seems to be paying off for her," Xander agreed, sounding impressed.

"Go, sis," Madison smiled. "I've never seen her like this before. Too bad Jason can't see her like this—he'd be impressed."

Chip nodded.

"Neither have I," he said slowly, frowning a little. "That was just weird…"

"Tornado power!" Vida cried, taking down the rest of the Hidiacs.

Grinning, the other four rangers ran to join her.

"Whoa sis!" Madison exclaimed.

"Hey, yeah!" Xander grinned.

"Way to go, V," Nick said.

But they didn't get to celebrate any further because they were interrupted.

"Very impressive," Koragg growled, appearing amidst the trees. "Now, how about a real challenge?"

The rangers watched as Koragg transformed into his Zord form. Pulling out their wands, they prepared to morph and do the same.

"Done!" they cried. "Magical Source, Mystic Force!"

Transforming into their own Zord forms, the rangers readied for battle.

"Welcome to your last fight!" Koragg exclaimed.

"That's what you think!" Nick snapped back.

Koragg didn't wait for them to make a move.

"Wolf attack!" he shouted. "Come on!"

The attack hit them and the battle began.

"You want some of this?" Xander growled, attacking with his axe.

"Could use some help, V!" Chip cried, blocking at attack from Koragg.

"Incoming!" V called in response.

Rolled into a ball, she landed in Chip's outstretched hands.

"Gotcha!" he said. "A little game of catch, Koragg?"

He threw Vida straight at Koragg in a direct hit. Koragg stumbled a little, but didn't fall.

"I'm not done yet!" he growled. "Now you'll feel my real power!"

Nick scoffed.

"Talk is cheap!" he said. "You don't scare us!"

"Let's show him!" Chip cried.

"Let's do it!" Madison exclaimed.

"Let's go!" shouted Vida.

"Right!" agreed Xander.

They gathered together.

"Mystic Titans, Dragon Formation!" they shouted.

At that moment, the sun appeared over the horizon. Vida stumbled in sudden pain.

"Agh!" she cried, falling. "The sun's so bright! I feel all…"

De-morphing, Vida fell to the ground in pain. All of the rangers spun to see what had happened.

"V!" Xander cried. "What's the matter?"

"Are you ok, sis?" Madison asked anxiously.

"V!"Chip exclaimed.

They all leaned over, looking down at her.

"What happened?" Vida groaned, panting as she looked up at them.

"You lose one and you all quit?" Koragg growled, interrupting.

Xander turned just in time to take a strike from Koragg. He stumbled backward, barely catching himself.

Koragg shook his head in disappointment.

"Look at your pitiful selves," he said. "You are defenseless. I waste my time."

He turned, leaving them alone in the forest.

"Guys, we have to help her!" Chip exclaimed, bringing their attention back to Vida.

With the threat of Koragg momentarily abated, they all de-morphed and ran to Vida's side.

"Sis!" Madison cried, dropping down next to her.

"Vida!" said Xander.

"V!" Chip exclaimed, scrambling back over to her. "Are you alright?"

The sun was slowly starting to rise higher in the sky and she wasn't getting up.

"I don't know…" Vida groaned, trying to push herself up again. "The sun…It's so bright…"

"Come on, sis," Madison said. "Let's get you back home…"

"We should get out of here anyways," Nick said, looking around. "Just in case Koragg decides to have another go at us."

Vida nodded, though she needed help getting up. Chip, Xander, and Nick helped, getting her out of the forest and back to the girls' apartment. It took a little while because Vida was moving slowly.

"We'll meet you back at the Rock Porium," Madison said as Vida stumbled into their apartment. "We shouldn't all be late…"

"Are you sure you two will be alright?" Xander asked.

Madison nodded.

"Just be careful," Nick said. "And don't worry, we'll figure out what's going on with V."

Smiling faintly, Madison shut the door. The three boys hurried away, rushing to get to the Rock Porium before they were late. They just made it, giving quick excuses for Madison and Vida when Toby questioned their absence.

"Man," Chip yawned a little while later. "Remind me again why we were up all night?"

"Because we have to finish translating that scroll," Nick answered quietly, glancing around.

The bell on the door jingled as Jason walked in. He strode straight to the boys, glancing around the shop.

"Where are V and Maddy?" he asked, frowning when he didn't see them.

The three boys exchanged glances.

"Umm… Last we saw them was when we dropped them off at their apartment," Xander answered. "They should be here soon."

"When did you drop them off?" Jason asked.

"A half hour ago?" Chip answered hesitantly.

Nick, catching the look on Jason's face at that answer, stepped up.

"We were out all night at a friend's house working on a project," he said, crossing his arms. "V and Maddy wanted to change before work and didn't have anything else with them. So we walked them home and came here. They shouldn't be too much longer. So, relax."

Jason glared at him.

"Don't tell me to relax, Rookie," Jason growled. "I have every right to be concerned when they aren't answering their phones and miss plans without warning."

Nick frowned, but before he could answer the door opened again and Leelee came walking in. She smiled, waving at the boys. Jason glowered at the interruption.

"There's Leelee," Nick said quickly, ignoring Jason. "Maybe she knows what happened to V last night—something had to have happened at that club."

Jason frowned. The three boys walked over to Leelee, who looked at them in confusion. Staying where he was, Jason listened in on their conversation.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, frowning.

"What happened to Vida at the club the other night?" Nick asked abruptly.

"V's been acting a little strange since then," Chip added.

Leelee shrugged.

"She was acting kind of strange at the club," she said. "She was, like, nice to me. Even talking to me."

Xander sighed.

"Leelee, this is important," he said.

"Oh, right," said Leelee. "I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. But, I couldn't stay. My mom called and I had to leave. Vida was fine when I left… And had a better tan."

They all spun to see Vida and Maddy coming in the door. Vida was still leaning a little on her sister. Seeing them both, Jason visibly relaxed and sighed in relief. Both of the girls paused, looking at him in surprise.

"Where have you been?" Jason asked, running a hand through his hair, a look of relief on his face. "You didn't show up for breakfast."

"Oh my gosh!" Madison exclaimed as Vida headed over to one of the counters. "I am so sorry, Jason. I completely forgot…V showed up while we were working last night and I forgot to tell her and then we got a little distracted and—"

"Maddy," Jason interrupted, chuckling a little. "It's alright. Things happen. I was just worried because neither of you answered your phones. I even went to your apartment. When I couldn't find you, I called Trini to let her know I'm staying an extra day or two. Adam and Rocky will handle the dojo, but I just want to make sure you're both alright."

Madison nodded.

"We didn't mean to worry you," she said softly.

Smiling, Jason put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

"No worries," he said, turning. "Now, V. Where have you—what on earth are you wearing?"

He hadn't noticed when they walked in, but Vida was wearing sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt. Not something normal for her. She also had the hood up with a baseball cap underneath and sunglasses on. She shrugged in response.

"Just a little sensitive to the sun today," she said.

"You look like a bum," Jason retorted, raising an eyebrow. "Are you feeling alright? You look really pale."

"I'm fine," she said.

Turning, she leaned against the counter. All of them watched her in concern. Chip was looking at her thoughtfully, a book of some kind in his hand. Jason moved over to Vida, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"V, maybe you should get some rest," he said. "I think you're getting sick—and being out all night couldn't have helped."

She let out a low hiss, though she didn't look up at him. Frowning, Jason glanced at her face. As she turned her head away, he caught a glimpse of something he didn't like. There was a strange red gleam in her eyes that reminded him of something from years before—and it wasn't a good memory. But when she looked back at him, her eyes were normal again.

"Maybe I should go home…" she said slowly.

"I think that would be best," Jason agreed, putting an arm around her shoulder. "I'll drive you home."

She nodded, leaning against him as they headed for the door.

"Do you want me to come, sis?" Madison asked worriedly.

Vida shook her head.

"Stay here," she said. "I'll go home and get some sleep and meet up with you later, alright? Big bro will make sure I get home alright."

Madison smiled faintly, nodding. With his arm still around her shoulders, Jason led Vida out of the Rock Porium.


	4. Chapter 4

After dropping Vida off and making sure she got into her apartment, Jason sat in his car for a few minutes. He couldn't get that red gleam out of his head.

"It reminds me of Tommy," he muttered to himself. "But she's still acting like V…Could she be under a spell and fighting it?"

Sighing, he started the car and pulled out his phone.

"Definitely staying an extra day or two now," he said, dialing. "Better tell Trini I found the girls."

"_Red gleam?" _Tommy said, frowning. _"Are you sure?"_

Jason sighed, nodding as he leaned back in his chair. He was back in his hotel room, talking with Tommy on his computer using the video chat.

"I'm sure," he said. "She tried to hide it, but I saw…"

"_Jase," _Tommy said slowly. _"That's exactly how it was back with you and Kim all those years ago…"_

Jason groaned.

"Don't tell me that, bro," he said. "It's hard enough staying out of things here—especially with Maddy and V involved…"

"_I'm sorry," _Tommy sighed. _"But she's the pink ranger. If she was just evil, her eyes would glow pink, not red…"_

"But she's still acting like herself," Jason said, leaning forward again. "Other than being paler than normal and a lot more tired—she's still V…"

Tommy ran a hand through his hair, frowning as he tried to come up with an explanation.

"_I don't know," _he said. _"I'm stumped right now. I'll check with some of the others and see if they can come up with something. For now, keep an eye on her. We need to be ready to deal with it if this gets out of hand—there's always a chance it's something completely new that the team won't be able to handle on their own."_

Jason took a deep breath, nodding.

"I'm not going anywhere until this is solved," he said. "I know they need to do this on their own, but I'm not about to lose either of them."

"_I don't want to lose them either, bro," _Tommy said quietly, shaking his head. _"If the situation hits critical, call me. I'll let the kids know to be on standby. We're not letting any of them go down without a fight."_

Jason nodded.

"Thanks, Falcon," he said. "I'll keep you updated. Keep your communicator on you, if not your phone."

"_Always have a communicator," _Tommy grinned. _"Can't guarantee the phone. Talk to you later, Rex."_

Ending the call, Jason sighed and leaned back in his chair again. Rubbing his hands over his face, he groaned.

"This was so much easier in high school when all we had to worry about was ourselves," he muttered.

* * *

_**Red Ranger to the Rescue**_

_Madison, Vida, Chip, and Xander laughed as they chased each other around the playground. The six-year-olds were playing tag with each other as their mothers watched and chatted from nearby. It was fairly crowded at the park since it was a nice afternoon. _

"_Stay where we can see you!" Mrs. Rocca called to the four kids._

"_K, mom!" Vida and Madison chorused, chasing after the boys. _

_They all clambered up the jungle gym, still chasing each other in circles and playing hide-n-seek on the large play structure. All four of them were hiding and giggling underneath when people started screaming and running past the jungle gym. The kids froze in fear, not sure what was going on. Peeking out, there was no sign of their mothers. Sticking very close to each other, they peeked out to see the park overrun by odd grey men—and their mothers nowhere to be seen. _

"_Where's mommy?" Madison cried, tears welling in her eyes._

_All four were near tears as they looked around in fright. But there was no one nearby except the grey men. Then someone new caught their attention. He must have seen them peering out from under the jungle gym, because he was watching them with his arms crossed. _

"_Power ranger!" Chip exclaimed, pointing. _

"_But he's green," Vida frowned. "Is he a new ranger?"_

"_He's a power ranger," Xander said. "He'll save us."_

_He darted toward the strange new ranger and the other three followed, Vida grabbing Madison's hand as they ran. But the green ranger didn't come running to get them. Instead he started laughing, dropping his hands to his side. The kids faltered for a moment at the laugh, but kept running, sure he would save them. Then he raised a hand to point at them. A jet of green light shot toward them, but a figure in red leapt in the way. The burst of magic struck the red ranger, knocking him to the ground. As the kids started screaming in terror, they were grabbed from behind. Still screaming, they looked up to see the other power rangers running in to join the fight. The yellow ranger had scooped up Madison and Vida while the black ranger had grabbed Xander and Chip. They were now running away from the fight with the four kids while the pink and blue rangers were running to help the red ranger as the green ranger continued throwing bolts of green light at them. _

"_Where are your moms?" the black ranger asked, his voice slightly muffled by the helmet._

_The kids shook their heads, eyes wide._

"_There!" the yellow ranger exclaimed._

_She had just spotted the three mothers looking anxiously around, afraid to get too near the fight but desperate to find the children. The rangers ran over to them, handing the four kids over to the grateful mothers. _

"_Thank you," Mrs. Rocca said, taking Madison and Vida and holding them tightly. "Thank you so much."_

_Both rangers nodded and spun, racing back toward the fight without saying a word. With the kids clinging tightly to them, the mothers hurried away to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the battle._

* * *

"Good morning, Rootcore!" Vida exclaimed, strolling in and smiling as she looked around.

The others turned to look at her.

"Hey, sis," Madison smiled. "You're feeling better."

"I'm feeling great," Vida grinned. "Slept like a baby. Let's rock 'n' roll!"

Nick smirked.

"You slept like a log—," he said. "Twenty-two hours worth."

The others snickered, nodding. Madison pulled out her new camera, turning it on Vida.

"Hey, V," she said. "Say a few words to your fans."

Laughing, Vida nodded.

"All right," she said. "I'll show you a new pose that came to me in a dream."

She struck a pose as the others laughed along. Chip, who had been digging something out of the bag next to him, turned to Vida.

"After such a long nap, you must be very thirsty V," he said, holding out a goblet of red liquid.

Vida froze, staring at it. Slowly she reached out to take the cup. Madison was still filming, but Nick and Xander had gone back to what they were doing. Taking the goblet, Vida took a drink—and then immediately spit it back out.

"Yuck!" she exclaimed. "It's tomato juice."

Chip smirked.

"Aww, what?" he said. "Did you think it was blood?"

The others looked at him in shock.

"Pardon me?" Xander exclaimed.

Chip whipped around to look at them, holding up a small card in his hand.

"I am a card carrying member of C.O.U.N.T.V.—" he said, sighing when the others just stared at him. "Containment of Underworld Nocturnal Transylvanian Vampires Club. And I, my friends, have found myself a vampire."

"My sister is a vampire?" Madison said skeptically.

Chip nodded.

"Pale skin, sensitivity to light, sleeping all day, thirst for blood—textbook vampire signs," he said confidently.

Madison, Nick, and Xander exchanged glances. Looking back down at Vida and Chip, they all burst out laughing. As did Vida.

"Come on, guys," Nick chuckled, shaking his head as he headed down the stairs. We're late for work."

Vida laughed again, nodding.

"I'll meet with you guys later," she said, smirking at Chip. "I gotta grab a bite before I go."

She pretended to lunge at him as she spoke, eliciting another round of laughter from the other three rangers. Waving, they headed out the door leaving Chip and Vida alone.

"Okay, maybe I'm wrong…" Chip sighed, watching them go. "I'll stay here and go in with V…"

Once they were gone, Vida sighed.

"By the way, Chip," she said slowly. "You were right."

Chip froze by his bag.

"I am a vampire," Vida hissed, spinning.

She lunged at him, her eyes red and fangs out. But Chip was ready. He whipped around to face her, holding out a clove of garlic.

"Garlic clove!" he exclaimed as she hissed and backed away. "I knew it! You're a vampire! This is so great—oh, well, except for you. You're a bloodsucking night demon…Hmm… This could be a problem…"

"Maddy, how's V doing this morning?" Jason asked, leaning back against a wall.

He'd just arrived at the Rock Porium a few minutes before, shortly after Madison, Xander, and Nick. After glaring at Nick, he'd said hello to Xander and given Madison a hug. Now he was watching the three working around the shop.

"Better," she smiled. "She's supposed to be here in a little while. Chip is with her right now."

Jason smiled, back, nodding.

"That's good to hear," he said. "Think you two are up to spending the afternoon with me? Once you're off work, I mean. You still haven't shown me around Briarwood."

"I love that idea," Madison answered. "There are a ton of places we could take you."

"Great," Jason said. "Then as soon as you get off it's just the three of us for the afternoon."

Glancing over, he shot another glare at Nick. Taking a deep breath, Nick glared back.

"What is your problem?" he asked shortly.

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"No problem, rookie," he said.

Nick frowned. Jason had called him that once before, but he had blown it off. The repeat use annoyed him.

"Wait—rookie?" he sputtered. "Rookie what?"

Jason shrugged.

"You just look like a rookie," he said, crossing his arms. "Got a problem with that?"

Xander and Madison both had to stop themselves from snickering at the look on Nick's face.

"You know nothing about me," Nick snapped back.

"You're right," Jason said. "And you know nothing about me—any other obvious points you'd like to make?"

Nick glowered at Jason, shaking his head.

"If you knew—" he started to say, and then cut himself off.

Jason smirked.

"If I knew what, rookie?" he asked.

"Nothing," Nick muttered. "I'm going to check on stock."

Spinning on his heel, he stalked out of the room. Jason watched him go, a smug look on his face.

"Jason!" Madison exclaimed, swatting his arm. "Be nice!"

"I am being nice," Jason protested.

Madison rolled her eyes, but left it alone.

Later that afternoon, Jason and Madison walked through the park.

"Heard anything from V, yet?" he asked.

Sighing, Madison shook her head.

"No," she said. "Not a word. Xander and Nick haven't heard anything either…Chip and Vida are just gone…"

"Don't worry, kiddo," Jason said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "They've got to be in town somewhere. You know how Chip is—he's easily distracted sometimes. And it's not always that hard to convince V to take off for something fun."

"Yeah…" she said. "I guess. But—well, it's been a lot different lately. Chip really is a lot more focused than he used to be…And V—well, I guess we're all a little more responsible out here…"

Jason glanced down at her as they kept walking.

"Why's that?" he asked. "Is it because of the power rangers?"

Madison stiffened, looking up at him in surprise.

"What?" he said. "They're all over the news. And all of you know how that goes—what with growing up in Angel Grove and everything. You've always gotta be careful when there are monsters in town."

"Oh, right," she said, taking a deep breath. "I guess it could be…"

"Maddy, relax," he said. "I'm not here to try and take you away from the monsters. You live here now—you have to deal with it. Besides, it's not like you didn't learn to duck and cover enough growing up. Stay out of the way and the monsters usually leave you alone."

Madison sighed.

"I guess you're right," she said, looking down at the ground. "I'll be careful."

"That's all I ask," Jason said, squeezing her shoulders. "Now, where else can we check? V and Chip have got to be somewhere."

Madison glanced around, her eyes flickering toward the forest for a moment.

"Umm… Let's check the Rock Porium again," she suggested. "And then maybe swing by my apartment and see if V went home for a nap. Maybe she wasn't feeling as good as she looked?"

Jason nodded and they turned away from the forest, heading back into town.

"V!" Madison called as they walked into Rootcore that evening.

"Chip!" Xander shouted after her.

"Guys?" said Nick.

But Chip and Vida were nowhere to be seen.

"You're out here awfully late," Udonna said, looking down at them from the upper level. "What is going on?"

The three rangers exchanged glances.

"Chip and V didn't show for work," Nick said. "We think there may be a problem."

Udonna frowned.

"They seemed alright the last time you saw them?" she asked.

Xander shrugged.

"Well, not exactly," he answered. "Vida's been acting very strange. And Chip thought that she might be…Well, these are Chip's words, not ours…a vampire."

Udonna raised an eyebrow as the other two snickered.

"Well, there are many things in the woods that seem…unbelievable," she said slowly. "But I assure you, they do exist."

Xander, Nick, and Madison exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"Hey!" Madison exclaimed. "I just thought of something. This morning, I took some video of Vida."

Pulling out her wand, she walked over to one of the screens and brought up the video. As it started playing, they watched in shock.

"Okay, that's weird," Madison said. "She was dead center frame when I took this. And now she's not there."

Udonna sighed.

"Her image will not appear on video," she said grimly. "As it will not reflect in a mirror. Chip was right. She is a vampire."

The rangers looked at Udonna in shock, horrified looks crossing their faces.

"Find them, rangers," she said. "They need your help."

They nodded.

"Let's go," Nick said, heading for the exit.

"Children of the night!" Fly Trap cackled. "Go forth and destroy your beloved city! Go now! For at sunrise you will all be turned into ash!"

He laughed maniacally again as Vida and Chip came running up. They'd followed Fly Trap and the teenagers who'd been turned into vampires from the club. After Necrolai had disappeared, Vida had gotten Chip up and moving so they could stop Fly Trap and save the teens. They were already morphed and ready to fight.

"Hold it right there, Flytrap!" Chip shouted.

As they stood there, the rest of the rangers came running up. They, too, were already morphed for the fight.

"V, you okay?" Madison asked anxiously.

Vida nodded in her direction.

"Never better!" she answered.

"Good!" Nick exclaimed. "Let's swat this fly!"

Vida laughed and cheered, bouncing over to dance around with Leelee. With Fly Trap destroyed, they were back at the Rock Porium relaxing and having fun. Jason, lounging in one of the chairs nearby, had already scolded Vida and Chip for worrying all of them earlier by missing work and not answering their phones. Vida had just rolled her eyes, glaring at him for babying her. But he had laughed and given her a hug, letting the subject drop. Now they were all just enjoying themselves.

* * *

"Hey," Chip said, trailing behind Nick. "So, Nick. Now that you know vampires do exist how about joining the C.O.U.N.T.V. club?"

Nick scoffed, shaking his head and glancing over at Jason. He was watching Vida and didn't twitch at the mention of vampires.

"Not interested," Nick said.

But Chip didn't let it drop.

"Wait—before you make a hasty decision, let me show you what your two-hundred bucks gets you," he said quickly, setting down his bag and showing things to Nick as he continued. "Three cloves of garlic, "How to Spot a Vampire" handbook, mirror, vampire chalk, and a vial—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Nick interrupted. "'Vampire chalk'?"

Chip grinned

"No vampire hunter worth his wooden stake goes anywhere without it," he responded.

"Ah…" Nick said slowly.

Chip didn't need a lot of encouragement to continue.

"Just draw a circle around the vampire, and they cannot cross the line," he said.

Walking over to where Vida and Leelee were dancing around, he crouched down and started drawing a circle around Vida.

"What is he doing?" Madison asked, pausing next to Nick and watching Chip.

"Showing how vampire chalk works," Nick said, shaking his head.

When Chip got close to Leelee's feet, she jumped backwards, glaring at him.

"Uh! Sorry," she snapped. "These are $300 LeSage boots. Draw your chalk near someone else's feet."

Chip kept going as Vida laughed, not moving while he drew the circle around her. Jason shook his head, but didn't say anything. Finished with the circle, Chip hopped up and rejoined Nick and Madison.

"So, if Vida was a vampire, she couldn't cross that line," Nick said.

Chip nodded.

"Yep," he answered.

Xander, talking on the phone with a customer, took it from his ear and covered the mouthpiece.

"Hey, V," he called. "We got any Coltrane on CD?"

She shrugged and turned to go look.

"Let me check!" she called back. "Agh!"

As she tried to step out of the circle, Vida let out a cry of pain and stumbled backward. Everyone in the room froze, looking at her in surprise. Jason leapt out of his seat, running over to her as she tried again.

"V? Are you alright?" Chip exclaimed.

But as she tried to cross the circle again, the same thing happened. Xander and the other three exchanged grim looks.

"V, are you alright?" Jason asked in concern, reaching out to keep her upright.

"I—I don't know…" she muttered, shaking her head. "I—I feel so weird…"

"Alright, shop's closed," Nick announced turning to the few customers in the store.

Between Nick, Xander, Chip, and Madison, they quickly cleared the shop of everyone, including a protesting Leelee. The only one who wouldn't leave was Jason.

"Shop's closed," Nick said, looking pointedly at him.

Jason, still standing by Vida, just glared.

"Your point?" he said shortly. "I'm not going anywhere—now what is going on?"

The four exchanged glances, hesitating.

"If this is related to the vampire thing from last night, you need to tell me," Jason snapped.

"Wait, how do you know about that?" Chip asked, frowning.

"People have a tendency to notice when their children start behaving like monsters," Jason said pointedly. "It's been all over town. I know the signs—some monster did this. Now what happened?"

"We're not sure," Madison said slowly.

"But she should stay in there until we can get help," Nick said firmly.

Jason growled at him. Beside him, Vida grimaced. She let out a low growl, hissing as her eyes flashed red. Stepping back out of the circle before she could do anything, Jason took a deep breath. Vida shook herself, looking around at her friends and siblings.

"Guys, I know you think you need to do this, but I'm alright," she started pleading. "Please, let me out."

They shook their heads.

"We're gonna help you, V," Chip said. "I promise."

"And just how are you planning on doing that?" Jason snapped.

"The power rangers," Xander said, ignoring the outraged looks from his teammates. "If we can find them, maybe they can destroy the monster doing this to her. I'm sure we can find a way to contact them."

"Like what?" Jason said drily. "Are you going to shine a giant SOS signal in the sky?"

"Please?" Vida interrupted. "Please let me out…"

Madison stood next to Jason.

"Maybe we should let her out," she said slowly, reaching out a hand to Vida.

Vida snarled, lunging toward her. Madison let out a surprised squeak as Jason tugged her backward.

"And maybe you shouldn't," he said firmly.

Eyes wide, Madison nodded. Glancing over, she saw Nick gesture for her to join them. Leaving Jason standing next to Vida, she hurried over to the other three. They started discussing options in hushed tones, not wanting Jason to overhear anything.

"If Flytrap was destroyed, Vida should be fine," Madison said anxiously. "She must be under the spell of another vampire…"

The others nodded in agreement.

"What if it's Necrolai?" Chip suggested.

"Koragg would know that," Xander said.

That gave Chip an idea. He turned to look at Nick.

"Nick, Koragg seems to be able to contact you whenever he likes," he said. "Have you ever tried to contact him?"

Nick frowned, shaking his head.

"No," he said. "Well, I can try…"

Closing his eyes, he concentrated for a moment. But nothing happened. Shrugging, he opened his eyes again.

"I guess it doesn't work like—agh!" Nick cried out in pain, catching Jason's attention.

_You wish to speak, red wizard? _Koragg spoke in Nick's mind.

Nick grimaced, glaring at Jason when he started walking over.

"Next time, Chip," Nick hissed quickly. "You can call him yourself. He's in the glen."

"What is going on?" he asked.

"We think we know a way to find the power rangers," Madison said quickly. "But we need to leave…"

"Do what you have to," Jason said.

Madison looked at him in surprise. She'd been expecting him to argue with her.

"Who's gonna stay with V?" she asked, glancing at the three boys.

"I am," Jason said firmly.

"Jason, she'll try everything and anything to get you to release her. Are you sure you're up for it?" Xander asked.

Jason scoffed.

"I'm not easily fooled," he said shortly. "Go find help. We'll be fine here."

Madison nodded.

"He's right," she said. "Let's go."

They turned, pausing.

"Where's Chip?" Nick frowned.

Chip was gone. Groaning, the other three darted out the door, leaving Jason with Vida. The moment they were gone, Jason pulled his phone out of his pocket and headed over to grab his bag out of the corner. As he waited for an answer, he pulled out his computer and got it set up on the other side of the room. That way he could still keep an eye on Vida, but she wouldn't be able to hear everything he was saying.

"Hey, bro," he said the moment Tommy answered. "We've got an emergency—it's V."

He spoke quietly, just to make sure she couldn't hear anything she wasn't supposed to hear.

"_What?" _Tommy exclaimed. _"What's going on? Do I need to call the kids?"_

"I don't need you here yet," Jason said grimly. "But can you head down to your lab? Grab Hayley on the way. I'm getting my computer ready now."

"_On my way down," _Tommy answered.

"Call as soon as you get down there," Jason said. "There's something you need to see."

Hanging up, Jason shoved his phone back in his pocket and turned to look at Vida again. His computer was up and running, so he was just waiting on Tommy now. Vida's eyes were closed and she looked like she was listening to something he couldn't hear. Opening her eyes, she looked at Jason and grimaced.

"Jason, help me…" she pleaded, wrapping her arms around herself. "I feel really sick…"

Jason strode toward her. But, instead of heading into the circle, he grabbed a trash can and dropped it just inside, being extremely careful not to smudge the line.

"If you're gonna be sick, do it in the trash can," he said. "I'm not cleaning it up."

She looked at him in shock.

"But…" she protested weakly. "I—I need…oh…"

Vida collapsed to the ground. Behind him, Jason could hear the video call ring start. Shaking his head, he grabbed a water bottle that had been left on the counter. Taking the top off, he upended it over Vida. She shot upright, sputtering.

"What was that for?" she cried.

"Oh, good," he said. "You're awake. Guess you're alright now."

Leaving her glaring at him, Jason rushed back to answer the call.

"There you are, coward!" Chip shouted, charging into the glen.

Koragg turned to look at him in surprise.

"You!" Koragg exclaimed. "I was expecting red wizard to meet me."

"Well, you got yellow!" Chip yelled, attacking Koragg. "What did you do to Vida?"

"I did nothing to your friend!" Koragg cried, attacking back.

"Come on!" Chip snarled. "Lightening kick!"

To Chip's surprise, Koragg blocked the attack, knocking him away.

"I'm not done yet," Chip said, getting back to his feet.

But Koragg just shook his head.

"It's dishonorable to defeat a weaker opponent," he said, starting to turn away.

"What do you know about honor?" Chip cried. "I'll make you pay for what you did. Magi staff!"

He blasted Koragg again. For a moment, Koragg disappeared from sight and Chip thought he'd defeated him.

"Excellent!" Koragg said approvingly as he reappeared, not showing any signs of injury.

"No!" Chip exclaimed in shock.

"I had no idea you had grown so powerful," Koragg growled. "Now I can destroy you. Wolf attack!"

The attack struck Chip, sending him flying backward.

"Chip!" Nick shouted, running up to him.

"Are you alright?" Madison cried, dropping down next to Chip.

Seeing Koragg, all of them went on the defensive. But he did not attack.

"If you are looking for the one who turned the pink witch into the vampire," he told them. "Look no further than Necrolai."

"Necrolai!" Madison exclaimed.

"You're lying!" Chip shouted.

But Koragg didn't react.

"If you want the pink witch back," Koragg told them. "Defeat Necrolai."

"Why are you telling us this?" Nick demanded.

"If you are strong enough to defeat Necrolai and get the pink one back," Koragg answered. "Then, and only then, have you earned the right to fight me."

He turned to leave, the rangers watching him go with grim expressions.

"We'll play your game," Nick growled as he disappeared.

Back at the Rock Porium, Jason was standing in front of his computer. He'd set up far enough away that Vida wouldn't be able to hear or see what he was doing, but he knew she was watching him.

"_Jase, what's going on?" _Tommy asked. _"Are the girls alright?"_

He and Hayley were both visible on screen, sitting down in the lab. Jason sighed, shaking his head.

"We've got a problem," he said. "It's Vida…"

Tommy frowned.

"_What's wrong?" _Hayley asked. _"Did something happen to her?"_

"_Does this have anything to do with the red eyes?" _Tommy added, looking at Jason expectantly.

"I don't know," Jason said, shaking his head. "But take a look."

He stepped slightly off to the side so they could see behind him. Hayley and Tommy both frowned, looking around in confusion.

"_Where is she?" _Tommy asked.

"Right there, bro," Jason said, pointing toward her.

Vida glared at him, hissing and showing her fangs. She lunged at him, hitting the circle again and falling back with a cry of pain. Tommy and Hayley both looked around in surprise. He took a deep breath, turning back to the computer.

"_Ok, that is not normal," _Tommy said, frowning at the flash of blue that had come from when Vida hit the circle. _"Where is she?"_

Jason gestured behind him again.

"_Jason, there's no one there," _Hayley said.

"Oh, she's there," Jason said.

"_Is she invisible?" _Tommy asked.

Jason shook his head.

"I wish she was just invisible," he muttered. "No—I can see her."

Hayley frowned, thinking about what Jason was saying—then her eyes opened wide.

"_Jason," _she said slowly. _"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"_

"Yep," he said grimly. "Vida's been turned into a vampire. Fangs, blood, aversion to sunlight, undead, and everything else."

Tommy and Hayley exchanged grim looks.

"_How?" _Tommy asked, leaning forward.

"I don't know," Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't keep up with these things. You're always the one who handled all the weird stuff…"

Tommy scoffed.

"_Says the guy who got kidnapped and turned evil on a snorkeling trip," _he said._ "And then tried to kill his best friend."_

"Would you drop that?" Jason snapped. "Focus on V!"

"_I am,"_ Tommy said. "_Or at least I think I am—she's in that circle on the floor, right?"_

Jason nodded, glancing back at Vida again.

"I told you something weird was going on," Jason muttered. "But I didn't know it was this bad—she wasn't acting too out of character until today when Chip put her in that circle. She was still Vida. But now…Tommy, the kids are trying to fix this, but if they can't snap her out of it—"

"_We're going to fix it, Rex," _Tommy said firmly. _"We're not leaving V like this."_

"Jason!" Vida called from across the room.

Jason took a deep breath.

"Give me a minute," he said, turning and heading back toward Vida. "What's wrong, V?"

He stopped a few feet back, not wanting to risk messing up the circle.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she said, looking at him expectantly.

He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"Trash can is still there," he said, not moving any closer.

Vida's eyes widened in surprise and she looked at the trashcan.

"Jason!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he said. "Do you want me to guard the door? I can make sure no one comes in—though the door is locked right now."

"Never mind," she muttered. "Are you at least going to feed me?"

"Not right now," he answered, shaking his head.

Vida sighed, giving him a pleading look as she switched tactics.

"Jason, please," she begged. "I'm sorry—I'm not trying to do this. I don't want to be a vampire…this isn't my fault…"

"I know," he said, softening a little. "We're going to make this better somehow."

"I don't want to stay in here," she said, dropping her head. "Please let me out?"

"Sorry, kiddo," he said. "I can't."

She slumped.

"Jason, I'm scared," she mumbled, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. "I just want a hug…"

"And I will be happy to give you a hug," he said. "As soon as you're back to normal."

She lost it, lunging at him again and hitting the wall of the circle. Taking a deep breath, Jason turned and walked away. Tommy and Hayley were watching in concern.

"I'm not talking to you anymore!" Vida yelled from across the room.

"Fine!" Jason snapped back without turning around. "It'll be a quiet evening, then."

He sighed, shaking his head as he leaned against the counter to talk to Tommy and Hayley again.

"I hate this," he muttered, shaking his head. "Remind me again why I'm not kidnapping them both and taking them away from all of this?"

"_Because this is their choice," _Tommy said. _"Just like it was ours—and they deserve the chance to prove themselves. We can't interfere, Jase. You know that."_

"I know," Jason sighed. "Doesn't make it any easier…"

Tommy nodded in agreement, standing up.

"_Just hang in there," _Tommy said. _"We'll figure this out. V is going to be alright."_

"Where are you going?" Jason asked, frowning.

"_Gotta do some research on the undead," _Tommy answered. _"Hayley, let's go."_

"_Tommy, you don't know anything about the undead,"_ she said, shaking her head. _"All of your books are on paleontology—those aren't going to help."_

"_That's why we're going to call Lightspeed," _he said. _"They've dealt with all sorts of demons."_

"Vida is not a demon!" Jason exclaimed.

"_Vampire, demon—same thing," _Tommy said.

Hayley rolled her eyes.

"_The point is," _Tommy said. _"Lightspeed has a lot more experience dealing with this kind of stuff—unless someone else has dealt with vampires. Have any of the other teams actually had vampire issues?"_

He frowned, glancing between Jason and Hayley. They both shook their heads.

"_I didn't think so," _Tommy said. _"Now go take care of V. We'll do what we can from here—though I'm hoping the kids will figure it out before we have to interfere."_

"Same here," Jason muttered. "I'll call you if anything changes."

Nodding, Tommy reached out and ended the call. Jason sighed, turning back to look at Vida again.

"Alright," he sighed as she glared at him. "Now what am I going to do with you?"


	5. Chapter 5

Nick, Madison, Chip, and Xander rushed back into the Rock Porium to see how things were going with Vida—and to try and come up with a plan to defeat Necrolai. Walking in and closing the door behind them, they were surprised to see that Jason was nowhere in sight. Vida was on the floor inside the circle, crying.

"V, what's wrong?" Chip asked.

"And where's Jason?" Madison said.

"I don't know," Vida wailed. "But I think I hurt him…"

They looked at her in shock.

"What do you mean?" Madison stammered.

"I didn't mean to," Vida cried. "But I was trying to get out of here—and I know I shouldn't be—but I pretended to pass out and Jason came running over to check on me—I hit him! Like, really hard and I might have bit him, but I don't really know because it all happened so fast…but he cried out in pain and stumbled away from me—I think he went out the door…"

She burst into tears again, burying her face in her hands.

"We have to find him!" she pleaded.

The other four rangers exchanged grim looks. Madison was pale as she glanced anxiously back and forth between her sister and the door.

"Don't worry, V," Nick said. "We'll find him."

"Please take me with you," she begged. "I have to know he's ok…"

"Sorry, V," Xander said, shaking his head. "But I don't think that's a good idea…"

"He's right, V," Chip said. "You need to stay in the circle."

"I know!" she cried. "But I have to know he's ok…I'll never forgive myself if—"

She burst into tears again.

"I promise I'll stay right next to you guys," she said. "And if I try to go anywhere else you can just put me right back in another circle."

The other four hesitated.

"Please," she begged. "We have to find him before it's too late…"

"Alright," Xander said. "But only because of Jason."

He scrubbed part of the circle away with his foot and Vida stepped out, smiling at him with tears still in her eyes.

"Thank you," she said. "Now let's hurry."

"Right," Nick said, nodding. "He can't have gone far."

Turning to look at Madison, Chip, and Xander, he started splitting them up into teams.

"Madison and Chip," he said. "Take Vida and head back toward Rootcore—she'll be safer there anyways and we can see if Jason went that way. Xander and I will head in the other direction and do a loop to see if we can't find him in the other direction."

"Got it," Xander said, nodding.

"Ready, V?" Chip asked. "V?"

He frowned, looking around.

"She's gone!" Madison exclaimed. "Now what do we do?"

The door opened and they all spun to see Jason walk in. He stopped, looking at them in surprise. Jason was carrying a large red hoodie in one hand and a bag of chips in the other.

"Hey guys," he said. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soo—where's V?"

He'd seen the empty circle.

"Jason!" Madison cried, darting forward to hug him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Maddy," he said, hugging her back. "But where is V?"

"She's gone," Xander muttered.

"What?" Jason exclaimed.

"She said she'd hurt you," Madison said, looking up at him. "V told us she was pretending to faint and that you stepped inside the circle and—and I thought you were hurt…"

Jason groaned.

"I went to my car to plug my phone in," he sighed. "And V had been complaining about being cold and hungry, so I was fixing the problem. I already fixed the other ones—that's why there's a trash can there and a puddle of water."

The four teens frowned, looking at him in confusion.

"She said she was going to be sick so I gave her the trashcan," he explained quickly, tossing the sweatshirt and chips onto the nearest counter. "And then she pretended to pass out, so I woke her up with a bottle of water. All that trouble and you guys let her out?"

"Sorry, Jason," Nick said. "But she did say—"

"V's been saying a lot of things, rookie," Jason growled. "Doesn't mean I fell for any of it. You guys really should take your own advice. Now where did she go?"

All four of them pointed straight toward the door. Jason grimaced, taking a deep breath.

"Great," he snapped. "Then this is what we're going to do. You four, head out toward the edge of town and make sure she's not heading for the woods. I'll head further into town to make sure she isn't going to hurt anyone else. Let's go."

Without waiting for an answer, Jason headed out the door. Shrugging, the four rangers took off out the door and in the opposite direction.

"Well, that was convenient," Xander commented as they ran toward Rootcore. "We'll have to thank your brother, Maddy."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because he gave us a clear path back to Rootcore," Nick said. "Without us having to make excuses."

* * *

"What if we find Necrolai before Vida?" Madison asked anxiously. "How do we destroy her? Fly trap was one thing…"

They were back at Rootcore, though there was still no sign of Vida.

"Chip's book," Xander suggested. "It's got to have a chapter on destroying vampires."

"Chapter 13," Chip said, nodding. "Basically, it's the old stake-in-heart scenario. Unless we're dealing with the queen of vampires…"

Nick frowned.

"And what does it say about destroying them?" he asked.

"It says you can't," Chip sighed.

The room was silent for a moment.

"Well, that's encouraging," Xander muttered. "Wait—the xenotome. That tells us what we need to know, when we need to know it. We need to know it now."

He led the way up to the Xenotome and they all gather around it.

"Xenotome, how do we destroy the queen of the vampires?" Chip asked.

They all watched as an answer appeared in the book.

"Dawn crystal?" Chip said. "That must be the only way to defeat Necrolai. Well, it says how to make one, but it takes time…and ingredients I don't know if we can get…"

Sighing, they started to turn away.

"You can't," Udonna said, hurrying in and over to join them. "But I did. We must hurry. There is not much time. We must make the crystal before—"

She cut off, setting down the ingredients she'd brought with her.

"Before what?" Madison asked. "Before it's too late? Is that what you were gonna say?"

Udonna sighed, looking at them.

"Make no mistake, rangers," she said grimly. "We are in danger of losing one of our own."

Madison gasped, biting her lip.

"That's not gonna happen," Xander said firmly, putting a hand on Madison's shoulder. "Udonna, you make the dawn crystal. We'll find Vida."

"No," said Chip. "I'm staying to make the crystal. I owe Vida that much."

Nodding, the other three ran to get their mystic flyers and headed out the door to search.

* * *

Jason jogged down the street, looking for any sign of his missing sister. He'd purposefully sent the young rangers back toward the forest, knowing they'd want to regroup at their headquarters. But he was still hoping to find Vida—or that they would find her on their way. He wasn't really sure how he felt about running into her on his own without that circle right now.

"Vida!" he shouted, looking around. "V!"

No answer and no sign of her. Determined to find her one way or another, Jason kept searching. But after searching for a good portion of the night, he was starting to lose hope that he'd find her at all. He was just about ready to head back to his car to call Tommy again when he finally spotted her walking down the street.

"V!" he shouted, running over to head her off. "Where have you been?"

But she just brushed past him. Frowning, Jason reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped, whirling to face him.

"V, it's me," Jason said, looking at her warily. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Now leave me alone."

Turning, she started to stalk away again, back toward the Rock Porium.

"You aren't going anywhere right now," Jason said, grabbing her arm again. "And what are those for?"

He just noticed the bag she was carrying. It was full of apples—which struck him as extremely odd.

"Nothing," she snarled. "Now leave."

"Not happening," he said, reaching for the bag. "Now give those to me, because all I can think of right now is Snow White—and not in a good way."

Vida hissed, shoving him backward. She was stronger than he'd been anticipating and Jason stumbled backward a little, though he kept on his feet.

"Don't do this, V," he said.

Stepping around her, he placed himself between the Rock Porium and Vida. She growled.

"No one will stop me from carrying out my mistress' commands," she hissed, her eyes flashing red.

Jason's eyes widened in surprise.

"Aw, man," he muttered, taking a defensive stance. "This really isn't good."

But he didn't budge, refusing to let Vida pass him. Dropping the bag, Vida snarled and lunged for him. Jason blocked her attacks. He didn't want to hurt her, so he concentrated on defending and keeping her contained rather than actually fighting back. But she was a lot stronger with the powers of a vampire running through her—not to mention the extra strength boost from being a ranger. Taking a kick to the chest, Jason stumbled backward.

"Got no choice," he grimaced, reaching behind him.

He froze in shock when he didn't find what he expected to. His morpher, which should have been in his pocket, was gone. Not having needed it until now, he hadn't noticed it was missing. But Vida didn't give him a chance to think about it. She attacked again, determined to rid herself of any interference. Jason defended himself as best he could.

"V, you've got to snap out of it!" he shouted, wincing as she landed a hit to his rib cage. "This isn't you!"

But Vida was beyond listening and Jason was quickly tiring—without his morpher he didn't have the strength or energy to keep up with the spell-bound Vida. Stumbling after she caught him in the thigh with a strong kick, Jason didn't catch himself in time to block her next strike. Vida's next kick caught him directly in the side of the head and he collapsed. The last thing he saw before the world went dark was Vida laughing as she picked up the bag of apples.

* * *

"Maybe she left town," Madison said fretfully. "Maybe she was taken. Maybe she—maybe she—"

She groaned, leaning on the counter with her face in her hands. They'd been out all night searching for Vida while Chip and Udonna made the dawn crystal. But they hadn't seen any sign of her. Now they were back at the Rock Porium to regroup.

"We'll find her, Maddy," Nick said reassuringly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I promise."

Madison nodded, smiling faintly.

"Find who?" Vida interrupted, taking them all by surprise.

She was standing in the doorway of the Rock Porium, smiling at them.

"Vida!" Madison cried, rushing to throw her arms around her sister.

Vida laughed, smiling as she hugged her back.

"Sis, I'm fine," she said. "Calm down. I'm fine. I had quite a night. But I'm ok."

"Why did you take off like that, V?" Xander asked.

Vida shrugged.

"Sorry, guys," she said. "But I didn't want any of you to get hurt…The good news is—it's over. Necrolai is gone and I'm free of her spell."

She grinned as they looked at her in surprise.

"Let's head back to Rootcore," she said, jerking her head toward the door.

Outside they could see that the sun was coming up.

"I'll tell you all about it on the way there," Vida said.

"Alright, let's go," Nick said, frowning. "But you're going to have to tell us what happened."

* * *

Chip grinned in excitement as the spell completed and revealed the dawn crystal.

"It worked," he said, looking at Udonna.

She smiled, nodding.

"Well done, Chip," said Udonna, reaching to take the crystal.

"You won't be needing it," Nick announced, leading the way into Rootcore.

Chip and Udonna turned to look in surprise as Nick, Madison, and Xander walked in with Vida.

"V!" Chip exclaimed, running down to meet them. "Are you alright?"

"Is she alright?" Nick grinned. "She defeated Necrolai all by herself."

Chip and Udonna both frowned.

"Why didn't you call?" Chip asked. "We all wanted to help."

Vida smiled, shrugging.

"I know," she said. "But it was my problem. You know me."

Her friends nodded in agreement, just glad to have her back again.

"Defeating Necrolai by yourself?" Udonna said thoughtfully. "That must've been quite the battle."

Vida nodded in agreement, but it was Nick who spoke up.

"We were a little suspicious before," he said. "But she walked all the way home in broad daylight. Not many vampires can do that."

Chip grinned.

"Hail Vida! Vampire slayer!" he said, striking her new pose in celebration.

Vida frowned, looking at him for a moment. Then she shook it off. Chip slowly lowered his hand in confusion as she turned to the others.

"Vampire slayer…" she smiled, pulling an apple out of her bag. "And gift giver. I picked you all a little something."

She started passing them out.

"I love apples," Xander grinned, taking his.

"Thank you," Madison smiled.

Nick nodded in a appreciation, taking the apple she offered.

"A gift from me, to all of you," Vida said. "To my best friends in the whole world."

She handed one to Chip and then turned.

"Udonna," she said, holding one out.

Udonna took it, still watching Vida carefully. Chip frowned, turning the apple over in his hands.

"To the rangers!" Vida exclaimed, holding the apple up in the air.

"To the rangers!" Nick, Madison, and Xander replied.

They started to take a bite, but Chip stopped them.

"Wait," Chip said, shaking his head. "Something's wrong. She couldn't have picked these apples. They're not grown in Briarwood."

Vida rolled her eyes.

"Picked—" she said. "I meant picked up at the store."

The other three nodded, accepting that explanation. But Chip wasn't ready to let it go.

"What about the pose?" he persisted. "You didn't even recognize it."

"I recognized it," Vida protested. "I've just moved on from it. You know me. I never stick with anything for very long. Now, I'm gonna get a complex if none of you eat my gifts."

She smirked, taking a bite of her apple. The other three rangers started to take bites of theirs as well.

"No!" Chip exclaimed, knocking the apples out of their hands. "I'm telling you—this is not Vida!"

"Hey!" Xander frowned as the apples hit the floor.

"Chip," Madison sighed, looking down at her apple. "Now you've gone and ruined perfectly good apples…oh!"

The apples on the floor had just wasted away.

"Talk about your rotten apples!" Xander said in shock.

They all turned to look at Vida for an explanation.

"She's gone!" Nick exclaimed.

And she was. Vida was nowhere to be seen. Exchanging grim looks, the four rangers spun and ran out of Rootcore to try and catch her. By the time they caught up, she'd already reached town. But they kept chasing, determined to stop her.

"Hold it right there!" Nick shouted as they reached a dead end. "There's nowhere else to run."

Vida stopped, slowly turning to look at them.

"You are so right!" she smirked.

The rangers stared in surprise as Necrolai appeared behind Vida.

"Good servant," Necrolai crooned. "Very good servant. Now get them!"

Vida nodded.

"Yes, mistress," she said, fixing her gaze on the rangers.

Pulling out her wand, she morphed and charged the rangers.

"Oh, no! Vida!" Madison cried.

"Magi staff! Come on!" Vida shouted, not hesitating as she ran to attack her teammates.

* * *

Jason groaned, wincing as he slowly opened his eyes. His head was killing him. Blinking at the bright light, he frowned.

"That is not my ceiling," he muttered.

"Good morning, Mr. Scott," an unfamiliar voice said.

Jason tensed, quickly turning to see who was speaking. But he grimaced, immediately regretting moving that quickly. The nurse who had been speaking to him sighed.

"Where am I?" Jason asked, putting a hand to his head. "And how did I get here?"

"Briarwood Hospital emergency room," she answered pleasantly. "Someone found you in the street last night—unconscious. At first we thought you'd been hit by a car, but your lack of injury surprised us. Outside of a grade-two concussion and some rather odd bruises, you'll be just fine. We didn't want to move you until you woke up, however."

Jason nodded, frowning as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Now, just a few routine questions," the nurse said, standing next to the bed. "What's your name?"

"Jason Scott," he sighed.

After the nurse had finished asking him all of the basic questions, she moved on to trying to figure out what had happened to him.

"Now, Mr. Scott," she said, walking over to open the window a little bit. "Do you remember anything that happened to you last night?"

Jason started to say no, but then a flash of Vida, her eyes glowing red, flashed across his memory. He grimaced, taking a deep breath.

"No," he lied quickly. "I don't remember anything."

"Very well," the nurse said. "That's not uncomm—oh dear."

"What's wrong?" Jason asked.

She was staring out the window of his room in surprise.

"Stay here," the nurse said. "The power rangers are outside—we may need to evacuate. Just stay in bed until I get back."

Spinning, she rushed out of the room. Moving as quickly as he could with his head spinning from the concussion, Jason got out of bed and headed over to the window. The figures of the five rangers were too far away to make out faces, but he could see enough to tell them apart—mostly by color and height. The four were facing the fifth, which had to be Vida. But none of them were morphed or fighting.

"Great," Jason sighed in relief, leaning against the window. "They found her—oh, that can't be good."

He'd seen a figure in black appear behind Vida, and then suddenly his sister morphed and charged her friends.

"Aww, V…" he muttered. "You don't want to hurt them, kiddo. You'll regret it later…I should know…"

He watched as the rangers fought to stop their teammate.

"Come on, rookie," he groaned. "Biggest mistake you could make right now. Never take on a morphed ranger when you're un-morphed—that's better. If a little unusual…"

Vida had just knocked all of them backward. As they went tumbling, they morphed in midair. Jason chuckled.

"That would have been nice," he said. "Whenever we got thrown like that is was usually out of morph, not into it…"

With all of the rangers morphed, now, the battle continued. They were struggling, trying not to hurt Vida as Chip tried to get to the vampire—Jason was pretty sure that's who the other person was—and destroy her. But when Chip finally got a clear shot, Vida was suddenly in the way. Jason tensed, but Chip didn't fire.

"Come on, V," Jason said. "You've got to snap out of it."

Vida took Chip down, pointing her staff at him. Then suddenly she stumbled backward, staring down at Chip on the ground. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Of course," he muttered. "They can get through to her while she's morphed. But can we do that for Tommy? No. We all have to de-morph and risk getting ourselves killed just to prove we aren't trying to hurt him—he can't believe us without that…"

He continued to grumble, shaking his head as the fight continued. Vida retreated, placing herself in front of the vampire as Chip took aim again. But when Jason saw her strike the pose they'd been laughing about a few days before, he wasn't worried.

"You'd better move out of the way fast enough, kiddo," he said, watching closely. "Good girl!"

Vida had dived out of the way just in time. Chip's arrow struck the vampire. In rage, the vampire rounded on Vida, forcibly de-morphing her. No longer under the protection of the vampire queen, but still a vampire herself, Vida flinched in the sunlight.

"Come on, kid," Jason said. "You're allergic to sunlight right now. Put that cloak to good use and cover yourself!"

She didn't, but it didn't take long for the rest of the rangers to take down the vampire. Jason sighed in relief as Vida got to her feet. At that moment, the nurse finally returned. She was surprised to see Jason out of bed and hurried over to see what was happening.

"Oh, wonderful," she sighed, looking out the window. "It's over…"

Jason shook his head.

"Give it a minute," he said. "They're not done yet."

She frowned, but suddenly the ground shook as a figure in armor the size of a building appeared. The nurse paled.

"And right on schedule," Jason muttered. "Monster as tall as a building. Now would be a good time to evacuate."

Eyes wide, the nurse nodded and turned toward the door. She paused, looking at him expectantly. Jason sighed, looking back out the window one more time.

"May the Power protect you guys," he said quietly enough that the nurse wouldn't hear.

Turning, he followed her out before she could get someone else to make him come.

* * *

"It's great having you back, V," Xander grinned, leaning on the counter.

All five of them were back at the Rock Porium, relaxing after their fight. Vida nodded in agreement.

"It's good to be back to normal," she said. "Though I'm going to have to say something to Leelee later—I think I freaked her out."

The others laughed, nodding in agreement. Except Madison, who was frowning.

"Maddy, what's wrong?" V asked. "Everything is back to normal now."

"I know…" she sighed. "But I feel like I'm forgetting something…"

"Well, while you try to figure that out, let's get something to eat," Chip said. "I haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday—I'm starving."

Madison gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth.

"Oh no!" she cried. "Jason! We were going to try meeting for breakfast again today—but the last time I remember seeing him was last night when we split up to look for V…"

Vida paled, leaning against the counter.

"Oh no…" she said, shaking her head.

"V, what's wrong?" Xander asked, frowning.

"It's Jason," she stammered. "I—I think I hurt him…"

The four other rangers looked at her skeptically.

"That's what you said last night…" Chip said slowly.

Vida groaned.

"I know!" she said. "But I mean it this time—I'm not trying to trick you. And if you don't believe me, put me back in that stupid circle and I'll prove I'm not a vampire anymore!"

Madison paled as the four exchanged glances.

"Are you sure, V?" Nick asked. "A lot happened last night."

"Yes!" Vida cried. "I'm serious. He ran into me early this morning when I was on my way here with the apples. He tried to stop me and—and I attacked him…"

"What?" Madison gasped. "Guys, we have to find him."

"I'm sorry," Vida said miserably. "I wasn't thinking clearly and he tried to stop me so I reacted under Necrolai's orders and with the super-strength from the vampire spell in combo with my ranger strength—"

"Jason didn't stand a chance," Chip said, horrified.

Vida nodded as Madison started shaking her head.

"I remember fighting with him," Vida mumbled. "He tried to defend himself—but I left him lying in the middle of the street…"

"Let's go, then!" Madison cried. "We need to find him. He could be seriously injured or—"

She choked off, shaking her head.

"We're going to find him," Nick said firmly, putting an arm around her.

"Find who?" Jason interrupted.

They all looked up in surprise. Jason was standing in the doorway of the Rock Porium. He looked exhausted and there was gauze wrapped around his head. He was also holding an ice pack to his head.

"Jason!" Madison exclaimed, flying over to him and throwing her arms around him.

He winced, but hugged her back with one arm. Vida stayed frozen, staring at Jason.

"Not so loud," he grumbled, looking down at Madison.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Concussion," he sighed. "I woke up in the hospital this morning…I guess someone dragged me there last night…Don't know who though. I did get to see the power rangers fighting through my window."

The five kids all froze, but Jason pretended not to notice.

"Then we had to evacuate because there was a giant—" he paused.

Frowning, Jason looked at them for an answer.

"Zord?" Chip offered.

"Yes, that one," Jason said. "Anyways, they made us leave—apparently they didn't want anyone to get stepped on or risk us still being in the building if something hit it…"

"Probably a good idea," Xander said. "Zord battles are dangerous for bystanders."

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Not that we've gotten that close to one," Nick said quickly. "But they're kind of hard to miss."

"Uh-huh," Jason said. "Whatever you say, rookie."

Nick glowered at him. But Jason had turned his attention to Vida.

"How are you feeling, V?" he asked. "Everything back to normal?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, looking down at the floor.

"Then come here," he said, holding out his arm to her. "You really had me worried, kiddo. I saw a lot of weird things happen growing up in Angel Grove—but the whole vampire thing…let's not do that again."

She hurried over to give him a hug. Jason wrapped his free arm around her, hugging her tightly.

"So what happened last night?" Chip asked.

Jason shook his head, wincing again.

"No idea," he said. "Last thing I know I was out looking for V—then I woke up in the hospital…"

He felt Vida flinch against him, so he hugged her tighter.

"Alright," Jason said, taking a deep breath. "My phone is in my car and I need to go call—I need to call…"

He frowned, rubbing a hand across his face.

"Trini?" Madison suggested.

"Yes!" Jason said. "Just don't tell her I couldn't come up with her name…"

Vida started snickering. Ruffling her hair, Jason headed back out the door. Nick looked at the other four in confusion.

"Who's Trini?" he asked.

"His wife," Vida smirked. "His pregnant wife."

"Ouch…" Nick said. "He's going to pay for that…"

"You have no idea," Xander laughed.

Outside, Jason climbed into the front seat of his car and shut the door. He grimaced as one of his myriad of bruises brushed against the seat. Unplugging his phone, he started scrolling through the rather long list of missed calls.

"Trini, Trini, Trini," he muttered. "Trini, Trini, Rocky, Trini, Adam, Tommy, Tommy, Trini, Trini—I'm in so much trouble…"

Skipping the rest of the list, he dialed Trini's number and waited for her to pick up. She answer after only two rings.

"_Jason Scott!"_ she exclaimed. _"Where have you been?"_

He flinched.

"Trini, not so loud…" he said.

"_Do you know how worried I've been?"_ she continued, ignoring his request. _"Why have you been ignoring your phone? I know you're spending time with your sisters but you still need to answer your phone—what if there was an emergency? You can't do things like this to me!"_

"Trini…" Jason groaned. "Can you please quiet down? My head already feels like it's caught in a vice grip…"

"_Why?"_ she snapped.

He winced again.

"I may have a concussion…" he mumbled.

"_What?"_ Trini exclaimed.

"Ok, I'm putting you on speaker," he grumbled, pulling the phone away from his ear. "Maybe that will hurt less…"

"_Jason, what did you do?"_ she demanded.

"I didn't do anything," he protested.

"_Then what happened?"_ she said.

Jason sighed.

"It was V," he said.

Trini was silent for a moment.

"_Your little sister gave you a concussion?"_ she said slowly. _"I'm not so sure I believe that…"_

"Well, I wasn't expecting it either," Jason said. "Remember when I called to say I was staying longer? That something—odd—was going on with V?"

"_Yes,"_ Trini said. _"Is she alright?"_

"Oh, she's fine," he muttered. "V got turned into a vampire—"

"_She got turned into what?" _Trini cried.

Jason grimaced.

"A vampire, Trini," he said. "She caught me alone—which reminds me. Where's my morpher?"

"_I took it out of the jeans in your suitcase when you were out of the room," _she retorted. _"You aren't supposed to be interfering, remember? Therefore you don't need it there."_

He took a deep breath.

"Trini, if I had my morpher I wouldn't have a concussion," he said. "And I'm pretty sure we're lucky it's just a concussion. I didn't stand a chance against V with the vampire strength combined with her ranger strength. And if she hadn't been so focused on getting to the others, it could have been a lot worse…"

On the other end of the line, Trini gasped and took a shaky breath. Having been power rangers once, the fast healing abilities that came with the power were always a part of them. However, those abilities worked best when they actually had their morphers—or at least the coin, in Jason and Trini's case—with them. The further away they were, the less effective the healing was. Which was why Jason's head was still hurting him.

"Trini, I'm fine," Jason said. "I promise. It's nothing worse than I've dealt with before. The doctor said I'm going to be out of commission for a few weeks and then it'll be like nothing ever happened—and that's his estimation for a normal person. I'll be fine in a couple of days. Especially after you give me my morpher back."

"_Jason…" _Trini sighed. _"Where are you?"_

"In my car," he said. "Still in—in…mmm…"

"_Briarwood?" _she said for him.

"Yeah…" he said. "But now that V is alright I'm going to head ho—"

"_You stay right where you are," _Trini snapped. _"You are in no condition to drive a car right now. I'm coming to get you."_

"Trini, you can't drive two cars at one time," Jason said. "What about my car?"

"_I will figure it out," _she said shortly. _"Now get back inside and give your car keys to V or Maddy before I let you go."_

Grumbling to himself, Jason climbed back out of the car and headed inside.

"So, do you think he remembers anything?" Xander asked.

The five kids were waiting for Jason to come back inside. Vida shot a glare at him as the other three shook their heads.

"It doesn't seem like he does," Nick said.

"Nick is right," Madison said. "He'd be asking more questions about what happened if he remembered you attacking him, V."

"Yeah," she said, sighing. "Big brother isn't one to let things like that go. We're lucky he was too far away to see our faces before we morphed during the fight. Jason would flip."

"No kidding," Chip said, shaking his head.

"I don't want him involved in any of this," Madison said softly. "I know he's strong—but he can't fight the monsters we deal with. And if he got hurt…"

"We're just going to have to make sure he doesn't find out," Vida said firmly. "He doesn't need to know what happened. I—I really don't want him to look at me any differently…"

"He wouldn't, V," Xander said. "He's your brother."

"And besides," Madison said, trying to cheer her back up. "Tommy would kick his butt if Jason made you feel guilty—none of this was your fault."

Vida smiled at that. Then the door opened and Jason walked back in. He walked straight over to Vida and held out his car keys.

"Here," he said.

Looking at him in confusion, she took the keys. Then he held out his phone.

"Hello?" she said slowly, not sure what was going on. "Oh. Hi, Trini—yeah, I have his keys."

A smirk crossed her face and Vida stuck the keys in her pocket.

"Oh, don't worry," she laughed. "He's not getting them back. We'll see you in a few hours."

Hanging up, she handed the phone back to Jason. Grumbling, he put his phone away and grabbed a chair, still holding the ice pack to his head.

"What was that about?" Madison asked.

"Trini's coming to pick big bro up and take his butt home," she grinned. "He's not allowed to drive himself."

"That's great—well, seeing Trini is," Madison said, catching herself.

Jason just rolled his eyes and settled back in his chair as the kids laughed.

"Does anyone have any aspirin?" he asked, wincing. "Aspirin would be nice."

"I'll get some," Vida quickly volunteered. "Stay right there."

Jason complied as she darted out of the room.

* * *

It was fairly quiet at the Rock Porium for the next few hours. So, when the door opened a while later, Jason and the five kids all turned to see who had come in. The man who had walked in was wearing dress slacks and button up, long-sleeved dress shirt with a tie. He had glasses on and his dark hair was cut short.

"Alright, what did you do this time, bro?" Tommy grinned, striding over.

He stopped, looking at Jason expectantly.

"I didn't do anything!" Jason protested.

Tommy snorted, adjusting his glasses.

"Then why am I here?" he asked. "Trini interrupted a board meeting, pulled me out without an explanation, and practically dragged me down the hallway by my tie before shoving me in the car and driving here. Obviously you did something."

Jason glared at him.

"You know," Jason growled. "If my head wasn't pounding so hard right now I'd come over there and—"

"And what?" Tommy grinned. "Beat me? Good luck with that, Jase."

"Tommy!" Madison and Vida exclaimed, interrupting Jason's next retort and running to hug Tommy.

"Hey, girls," he smiled, opening his arms to hug them both. "What did you let your idiot brother get himself caught up in this time?"

They laughed as Jason glowered at Tommy. Over by the counter, Nick leaned over to Xander and Chip.

"That's the guy I'm supposed to be scared of?" he asked quietly. "He's a nerd."

"He doesn't always look like that," Chip said. "Trini had to have pulled him straight from a meeting in those clothes—though I'm surprised he's still wearing the tie."

"He probably didn't want to lose it," Xander grinned, shaking his head.

"Good point," Chip snickered. "He didn't come in his car, after all."

"I still don't see what's so threatening about him," Nick scoffed, watching Madison and Vida chatting excitedly with Tommy. "I could take him."

"Sure you could," Xander said, shaking his head.

The door opened again and a petite woman, obviously pregnant and wearing a yellow sundress stalked in. Her long black hair was pulled out of her face and her gaze went straight to Jason.

"Trini!" Madison exclaimed, turning to hug her.

Vida joined and Trini smiled at both of them, hugging the girls.

"How are you two doing?" she asked.

"We're fine," Vida answered quickly, hoping Jason hadn't told Trini anything. "Are you two ready for the new baby?"

"Almost," Trini said, glaring around Vida and Madison at Jason. "Someone was supposed to finish the nursery this week, but that's not happening now. He's not using tools with a concussion."

"Trini, I'll be fine," Jason said, walking over to give her a hug.

She glared at him, smacking his arm as soon as he was close enough. Jason flinched and rubbed a hand over the spot where Trini had hit.

"Geez, Jase," Tommy smirked. "She didn't hit you that hard."

Trini was watching Jason now through narrowed eyes.

"He's right," she said shortly. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Jason shrugged.

"Couple of bruises," he said. "Nothing serious."

"And the gauze on your head?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Trini, I hit my head on the pavement," he sighed, pulling her into a hug. "It bled for a little while. I'm fine."

She grumbled, but didn't try and pull out of his hug. Jason frowned as he realized something.

"Hey, Trini," Jason said slowly. "Where's Mark?"

"He's at Tommy's house," she said. "I dropped him off with Hayley before I went to get Tommy."

"Yeah," Tommy grumbled. "I didn't get to play with the kid. No—I get kidnapped instead."

Trini rolled her eyes.

"You can play with him when we get back," she said. "We're going to your house anyways."

Tommy grinned as Jason groaned. Over by the counter, Chip and Xander snickered, catching Tommy's attention.

"Hey, Tommy," Chip grinned.

Tommy smiled back. But when Xander started to wave, he turned away. Xander frowned while Chip and Nick both smothered laughs.

"So how long can you stay?" Madison asked, looking at Trini and Tommy.

"Actually, we have to get going," Trini said regretfully. "I need to get Jason home. But we'll try to come visit soon, alright?"

Madison and Vida nodded reluctantly. Exchanging hugs, they said goodbye and Trini, Jason, and Tommy headed for the door.

"Oh!" Trini exclaimed, pausing at the door. "Vida. Keys?"

"Right!" Vida said, pulling them out of her pocket.

She tossed the keys to Trini, who neatly plucked them out of the air.

"Thanks," she smiled. "Take care of yourselves."

"Or I'll be coming back," Jason said, shooting a glare at Nick.

"Is that a threat?" he smirked.

Jason's eyes narrowed and Tommy grabbed his arm to stop him from stalking back toward Nick.

"Watch yourself, rookie," Jason growled.

"Relax, Jase," Tommy said, shaking his head. "He's just a kid. You can beat on him later if you really think you need to. Right now, let's get back to Reefside. So, who's driving genius here home?"

He directed the last part at Trini.

"I am," Trini answered immediately. "I don't trust the two of you alone in a car right now. So, sorry, Tommy, but you're driving home by yourself."

"He should be used to it," Jason smirked.

"Hey," Tommy protested. "I could talk to my pit crew on the radio when I raced. Can't do that in a normal car."

"But at least the scenery changes," Jason shot back.

"Scenery isn't exactly my concern on a racetrack, Jase," Tommy said drily. "That tends to cause more problems than it solves."

"Would you two knock it off?" Trini said. "We need to get going."

Laughing, Tommy nodded and started towing Jason out the door. Trini had parked in front of Jason's car. But they didn't immediately climb into the vehicles. Double checking to make sure no one was in immediate earshot, Tommy crossed his arms and looked at Jason.

"What happened?" he asked. "From the looks of it, V's back to normal—but how on earth did you end up with a concussion? All Trini could tell me was it was something to do with V being a vampire."

Jason sighed.

"Not long after I hung up with you and Hayley," he said. "V managed to trick the kids into letting her out. She took off. So we split up to look for her. I was hoping they'd find her, on their way back to their base. They didn't…"

"I gathered that," Tommy said drily.

Jason glared at him.

"Anyways," he continued. "I found her first. I wasn't going to just let her walk away. Let's just say she didn't like that idea."

"Jason…" Trini sighed, shaking her head.

Tommy groaned.

"Jase, what were you thinking?" he said. "Taking on a ranger armed with powers amped up by a spell? You aren't an active ranger anymore. You heal fast, but not that fast. And you definitely can't match that strength without a morpher."

"She's my little sister," Jason said defensively. "And I think she was trying to poison the other kids."

Tommy frowned.

"Poison?" he said.

"She had a bag of apples," Jason said, shrugging. "First thing I thought was Sn—"

He grimaced, a hand to his head again.

"Snow White?" Trini asked.

Jason nodded.

"Right," he said. "So I tried to snap her out of it. She attacked me instead…."

He shook his head.

"Man," he muttered. "It was all I could do to keep her off of me—and even defending didn't work long…"

"Does V know that you remember?" Tommy asked. "Cause it didn't seem that way inside."

Jason immediately started shaking his head.

"No," he said. "And I don't want her to know. She was trying to hide it, but she feels guilty enough as is. If she knew I remember…"

He sighed.

"It's better that she thinks I know nothing," Jason said. "At least for the moment. As long as they don't know who we are, I don't want her knowing—she can't afford to lose focus like that."

Tommy nodded.

"Good call," he said. "Though that's not going to make the guilt go away."

"You would know," Jason grumbled. "And if she doesn't get over it, you get to talk her through it. I have to deal with you enough as is."

Tommy shrugged.

"Hey, you're alive," he said. "Even if she does feel guilty for a while, at least she can apologize to you for everything later. And, once she knows you won't hold anything against her, she'll be just fine."

"I hope so," Jason sighed. "It really isn't her fault. I mean, look at how many times all of us tried to kill each other."

Trini and Tommy both nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry I took your morpher, Jason," Trini said quietly, a look of guilt flashing across her face. "I was hoping if you didn't have it you'd stay out of trouble…I brought your coin for you, though."

Tommy chuckled, shaking his head as Jason took the coin from his wife and quickly stuck it in his pocket.

"Jason? Stay out of trouble?" he said. "Not likely, Trini."

"Look who's talking, bro," Jason retorted. "You're the danger magnet—can't get anywhere near the bad guys without making yourself a target."

"I'm not the one who got beaten up by his own sister," Tommy said pointedly.

"Yeah, well—" Jason frowned, grimacing when he couldn't come up with an immediate comeback. "I'll answer that later…"

"You know, you're a lot more fun to argue with without the concussion," Tommy sighed.

Jason glared at him.

"I'm getting in the car," he grumbled.

Tommy just chuckled as Jason climbed in and shut the door. Then he remembered something and pulled out his phone.

"Hey, Jase?" he said, knocking on the window.

Grumbling, Jason opened the door again.

"What?" he asked.

"Would now be a bad time to tell you I have a way to keep track of the girls?" Tommy asked sheepishly.

Jason frowned.

"What is that supposed to me?" he growled.

"You know those bracelets I gave them for their birthday a couple years ago—during Dino Thunder?" he said.

"Yes," Jason said slowly. "You said they were just non-functioning prototypes."

"They are," Tommy said quickly. "I never got any further with those than putting in a GPS chip—which is set up to link to the ranger tracking network. And I have the numbers…"

Jason's eyes narrowed.

"You mean you've had a way to track them this whole time and you never told me?" he exclaimed, wincing.

Tommy shrugged.

"Yes," he admitted. "But in my defense I wasn't ever planning on using the trackers. They really were supposed to be just bracelets—so I didn't even think about the chips being in them until recently…"

"Just give me the numbers," Jason growled.

"Actually," Trini interrupted. "Message them to me. He'll probably just lose them right now."

Tommy laughed, but nodded.

"I'll follow you back," Tommy said, taking the keys from Trini and heading to get in Jason's car. "And I'll get you those numbers before you head home tonight."

Nodding, she climbed in with Jason. After a moment, the two cars pulled away, heading out of Briarwood.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Birthday Blow-up**_

_Tommy took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. He was a little nervous about being here since the invitation hadn't actually come from Jason. He'd hung out at Jason's house a couple of times with the other rangers since the spell on him had been broken, but not since giving up the coin to stop Rita from taking back the green ranger powers with the candle. Though that was mostly because he'd been avoiding them because he felt bad about not being able to help anymore. And he knew seeing him just made the other rangers, especially Jason, feel guilty about not getting the candle in time. As he waited for someone to answer the door, he shifted his bag again. He'd been careful with it the whole way there because he didn't want to break the presents he'd brought for the twins. Vida's gift, a small handmade quilt, was safe enough even if he dropped his bag. But Madison's present, a music box, would break if it got banged around too hard. His mother had helped him pick out both gifts from some things that had belonged to his older adopted sister. She had passed away not long after he was adopted, but they'd grown close in that short time which made the gifts even more special. _

"_Hey, Tommy," Jason said as he opened the door. "Come on in."_

_Tommy nodded and walked inside._

"_Presents?" he said._

"_Kitchen," Jason answered, frowning as he looked back into the house._

_He seemed slightly distracted. There was yelling from the backyard and Jason sighed._

"_We're out back right now," he said as he took off down the hallway. "Stick your bag somewhere out of the way and come on out. Food is out back."_

"_Sounds good," Tommy said, heading toward the kitchen. _

_As he walked into the kitchen, a couple of kids went running through. He recognized Chip and Xander, two boys who lived on the street and had come over to play with the twins before. Tommy had seen them a couple of times when he was over with the other rangers. But he just dodged around them as they darted back toward the backyard with a couple of other kids. Seeing the presents piled on the counter, Tommy carefully swung his bag off his shoulder and unzipped it. Pulling out the two presents, he set them both on the counter with the other gifts. Zipping his bag back up, he slung it back over his shoulder and went to find a place to stash it. Deciding to just hang it on the stair railing, Tommy was heading past the kitchen toward the backyard when he heard a crash. _

"_What was that?" he muttered, turning back into the kitchen. _

_Tommy stepped into the kitchen and saw Xander standing by the trash can. Hearing Tommy, Xander whipped around and stared for a moment with wide eyes. _

"_What's going on?" Tommy asked._

_But Xander didn't answer. He just bolted from the room. Tommy frowned after him, shaking his head, and went to see what was going on. The presents on the counter were all shifted around and one or two were on the floor. Xander had been checking out the gifts while no one was watching and the crash must have been him knocking them to the ground. Shaking his head, Tommy leaned over to pick them up and put them on the counter. _

"_Where did Maddy's present go?" he murmured to himself as he looked at the pile._

_Glancing around, he froze as he remembered Xander by the trash can. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to check, hoping he was wrong. But when he peered into the trash can he saw a familiar box. Groaning, he reached in and picked it up. The sounds inside the box told him it was broken._

"_Now what?" he said, looking around frantically._

_He didn't have another present for Madison. The sound of footsteps and more voices distracted him for a moment, and he dropped the present back in the trash as he turned to see Jason and a Zach walking in._

"_Hey, Tommy," Zach grinned. "When did you get here?"_

"_A few minutes ago," Tommy answered nervously, still trying to come up with a solution. "What's going on?"_

"_The girls want their presents," Jason grumbled. "So mom sent us to get them while she gets all of the kids to sit down."_

"_Oh," Tommy said, glancing back toward the trash can._

_For a moment he thought about telling Jason, but the other ranger grabbed an armful of presents and was back out the door before he could say anything. Zach was right behind him. Tommy was left with no choice but to trail behind them as he panicked silently. He had no idea what to do, but he couldn't picture this ending well at all. And he was right. Opening presents went well enough until the end. The girls were both happy with what they had gotten until Madison suddenly realized Vida had a present from Tommy and she didn't._

"_But I didn't get one!" Madison cried as she looked at her sister hugging the quilt. _

_Mrs. Rocca came rushing back out of the kitchen with the cake as Madison burst into tears. She'd gone inside as soon as all the presents were open to get the cake and ice cream out. As she rushed over to her daughter, Jason spun to where Tommy was standing. Growling, Jason grabbed Tommy by the arm and dragged him into the house. The other rangers started to follow, but Jason waved them away. Inside, and out of sight of everyone else, Jason slammed Tommy up against the wall._

"_What are you thinking?" he snapped. "Getting Vida a present and not Madison?"_

"_Jason, I—I didn't—" Tommy started to protest, glancing toward the kitchen._

_But Jason wasn't giving him a chance to explain. _

"_You made her cry!" he growled. "She's seven!"_

"_Jason!" Mrs. Rocca called from outside. _

_He glanced away briefly and Tommy took the opportunity to run before Jason could stop him. Snatching his bag off the banister, he bolted from the house and ran for home. _

* * *

"Wake up, child," a familiar voice said.

Clare sighed, opening her eyes and blinking as she tried to clear her vision. When she finally realized who was talking to her, she stared in surprise.

"It's over," Udonna smiled, looking down at her.

"Udonna—you're alive!" Clare exclaimed.

Udonna laughed.

"A little frozen around the edges," she said as the rangers came up behind her. "But yes, I'm alive."

Nick stepped forward to help Clare to her feet. They were in front of Rootcore, the familiar dragon head off to one side.

"Morticon's gone, Clare," Nick said.

"For good," Xander added.

"Yeah," said Vida. "Udonna was able to channel her power of the snow staff to help us."

"But we couldn't have done it without you, Clare," Madison told her.

"You sealed the forces of evil back into the depths," Chip grinned. "You're, like, a super sorceress."

They all nodded in agreement, smiling at her.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Clare smiled, and then she paused, looking down at the ground. "But that was my mother's power, and now it's all gone."

She picked the circlet up off of the ground, holding it carefully as she looked at Udonna.

"Niella would be proud of you today," Udonna said softly, placing her hands on Clare's shoulders. "And so am I."

Clare smiled at her as the rangers nodded in agreement.

"Now, let's get you inside," Udonna said. "You need to recover your strength."

"And we need to get back to work before Toby flips," Xander said, looking at the others.

"Then we'd better get moving," Nick said. "Come on guys."

"Bye, Clare," Madison said. "We'll come back later tonight if we can."

"Bye," Clare smiled.

Waving, the rangers turned and headed off through the forest. Switching back into their normal clothes, they hurried down the street toward the Rock Porium. Toby looked up when they piled in.

"Oh, and who is this I see?" he said. "Could it be my wayward employees? No. Because that would mean they were actually here to work for more than fifteen minutes."

"Relax, Toby," Vida said. "We'll close up the shop tonight."

"V's right," Xander grinned. "We've got this."

Toby looked at them doubtfully, but didn't argue as he disappeared into his office. Laughing, they all pulled on their uniform shirts and went to work.

"So do you think Clare is going to be alright?" Madison said.

"Of course she will," Chip said with a smile. "She's got us, doesn't she?"

"And we'll make sure she is," Nick agreed.

"Udonna will help her out, too," Vida said. "And maybe now she'll get a better grasp on her magic."

They all stopped, looking at Vida

"Well, she has to eventually," Vida pointed out.

"Just don't take any of her potions until you've seen all of the side effects," Xander said, shaking his head.

"Says the voice of experience," Nick said drily.

Xander shot a glare at him as the others laughed.

"Come on, guys," Madison said. "Let's get closed up so we can head out. I've got some studying I want to do tonight. Summer won't last forever, you know."


	7. Chapter 7

Just wanted to say thanks to those that have reviewed so far, and that we love hearing your thoughts and questions. To those of you who would like to know, the total word count for this story (before the alternative ending which we are still writing) is over 250,000. So it will be a long one guys there is a lot more to happen. Clearly this is going to be a AU so let us know if we're doing alright with it! I will keep posting about a chapter a day some longer than others, and sometimes two a day if there is a real short one. (or days i am really bored and stuck at home) :) Thanks guys enjoy and let us know if you have anymore ideas for us!

* * *

Xander frowned, concentrating as he moved the broom around in the air in front of him.

"Don't take your eye off the broom," Daggeron said, walking up to him. "That's the key."

Nodding, Xander didn't glance over, but kept his eyes on the broom.

"You've got more classes today," said Daggeron. "Are you ready?"

"I'd better be," Xander grinned. "I've got a pretty tough teacher."

Daggeron smiled.

"Believe me," he said, shaking his head. "My teacher was way harder on me than I am with you. But I learned to respect him, and eventually he became my best friend."

Xander nodded again.

"Don't take my eye off it, eh?" he said. "Let's see."

Flicking his wand, he brought the broom zipping around Daggeron.

"Hey!" Daggeron exclaimed, jumping backward.

But the broom went straight to Xander without hitting anyone. Xander laughed. Shaking his head, Daggeron laughed with him, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

* * *

Tommy sighed, leaning back in the passenger seat. Sunglasses on, he had the window down to let the breeze in as the car sped down the road.

"I don't know why I let you talk me into letting you drive, bro," Tommy muttered. "You are slower than my mom on her way to the store—and the mail man passes her."

"Oh shut it, Falcon," Jason grumbled. "Some of us like to arrive in one piece."

Tommy smirked as Jason sped up a little anyways. He shifted, trying to get more comfortable.

"Besides, I thought you were sleeping," Jason said.

Tommy sighed again, shifting more. He grimaced, holding his ribs as he sat up.

"How can I sleep with you hitting every pot hole in the road?" Tommy retorted.

Jason shook his head at the good natured teasing.

"And this is why Hayley said not to let you drive with those bruised ribs of yours," Jason said, glancing over. "Did you take the pain meds she sent?"

"Yes, Jase," Tommy sighed. "An hour ago. Right after we left. And I thought I was the one with memory problems…"

Jason rolled his eyes as they turned onto another road.

"Well, we're almost there," Jason said.

Tommy sighed and leaned against the door, still holding his rib cage carefully. Jason glanced over at him again.

"You must have really jarred them if they are bothering you that much," he commented.

"It was a lucky shot," Tommy mumbled. "I was trying to keep from hitting Ethan in the head when he froze up, and then Conner hit me from behind."

Jason snorted and Tommy glared at him. He was still waiting on the ribs to heal because he hadn't been carrying around a morpher since the accident. But then he never wore one unless it was completely necessary or an emergency. All of the rangers agreed it was important to let themselves heal at a more normal human rate to avoid questions. Though having them in the house still sped it up a little when he was at home.

"Sorry," Jason laughed. "But you have to admit it's funny, bro. I mean you're what—a seventh degree black belt now? And you got beat up by a couple of purple belts."

"Oh yeah—funny, huh?" Tommy smirked. "Like when you were teaching Mark how to fight, after Trini told you not to, and he landed a punch to your groin? Hitting you so hard you had to go the hospital and then got put on bed rest for a week? That kind of funny?"

Jason grimaced, remembering that incident.

"Hey, who knew a six year old could hit that hard?" Jason muttered as Tommy laughed again. "And Trini hid my morpher on me…"

"Everyone but you, bro," Tommy said, shifting again. "Everyone but you."

"How long are you laid up for anyways?" Jason asked, glancing over at him.

"Only another week or two," Tommy answered. "It's just pretty tender since I've been stretching more every day. Though I'm still not supposed to do any sparring till after I talk to the doctor on the seventh…"

Jason nodded. He knew Tommy's reasons for not pulling out a morpher to speed things up and was in complete agreement. Normally, all of the rangers tried to live as normally as possible. For most of them, carrying a morpher around was a danger in itself because they had no way to hide them from prying eyes. If one of them got in a car accident, like Tommy's many years before, it would be hard to explain what the morpher was to the responders who took it off of them. So they all left them at home and pulled them out for emergencies only—like when the red rangers had all gone to the moon.

"Hayley wouldn't by the whole 'I am a doctor' thing?" he asked, grinning.

Tommy chuckled.

"No, she doesn't like it when I try that one," he said, shaking his head. "Something about her IQ being light years ahead of mine and that if I don't shut up, she will give me something that will give the real doctors something to gossip about."

Jason laughed.

"That sounds like her," he said, shaking his head.

"So, enough about me and my wife," Tommy said, glancing over at Jason. "I know we aren't really going all this way just to get me away from my office. If that was the case, you would just drag me out into the woods somewhere to go camping."

Jason smirked.

"We're heading to Briarwood," he said after a moment.

Tommy perked up at that.

"Really?" he said. "I thought you had already gone to see your sisters."

Jason nodded.

"Yeah, I did," he said. "But I've got to know what you think."

"About what?" Tommy asked.

"Their red ranger," Jason glowered. "I don't like him."

Tommy chuckled.

"Why's that?" he asked. "Is it because the pink ranger almost always seems to end up with the red ranger?"

Jason shot a glare at him.

"Don't even go there," he growled. "I don't want either of my sisters to have anything to do with that kid—we know nothing about him!"

Tommy rolled his eyes.

"You know you can't stop either of them if they really want to date him, right?" Tommy said. "They're not in high school and living at home with your parents anymore."

"Watch me," Jason said shortly.

Tommy sighed.

"Give me your phone," he said.

"What?" Jason asked, glancing over at him.

"Give me your phone," Tommy repeated. "I want to let the girls know we're almost there. You know, just in case they're busy?"

"Why don't you use yours?" Jason asked, though he handed his phone over anyways.

"Are you kidding?" Tommy snorted, taking it. "You know what pain meds do to me. I'm high right now. You're lucky I even remember you have sisters—let alone to text them for you or where my phone is. I'm sure Hayley put it somewhere for me."

Jason shook his head. Tommy just smirked and started texting.

"Well, you'd better pull yourself together before we get there," Jason said.

"Eh," Tommy shrugged. "Just swing through a drive-thru and get me some coffee. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, sure you will," Jason retorted.

Tommy grinned, settling back into his seat.

* * *

"Training went well today," Madison said, taking a seat at the counter. "Don't you think?"

The others nodded.

"Yeah," Nick said. "You're doing a lot better, Xander."

"Thanks," Xander grinned. "You guys were all right about needing to practice—it's given me so much more control."

"And now Daggeron doesn't have to ride you all the time," Chip laughed.

"Speaking of training," Vida said, leaning against the counter. "What are we going to do about classes? Summer's almost over…"

They all sighed.

"It is, isn't it?" Nick said, shaking his head.

"Where did summer go?" Xander muttered.

They shrugged.

"Who knows?" Madison sighed. "We've just been so busy…But V's right. What are we going to do about classes?"

"Yeah," Vida said. "I don't think I can juggle work, a full class schedule, and—well, everything else…"

"I agree with V," Chip said. "Especially with no guarantee we'll even make it to every class…"

"I'm glad I don't have to worry about that," Nick smirked, leaning against the wall. "I haven't started college yet."

They all rolled their eyes at him.

"Anyways," Xander said. "Maybe we could miss a semester or two?"

"My parents would kill me," Chip said, shaking his head.

"Ours would, too," Madison said, glancing at Vida. "But maybe we could cut back? Not take a full schedule? That way we're still taking classes, but we won't have as much to worry about."

"Maybe," Vida said doubtfully.

"Or we could try online classes," Xander suggested. "Squeeze in homework and tests on our own time?"

"Maybe," Madison sighed. "We should probably talk to Jason, too. Before mom and dad."

Vida nodded in agreement.

"If we can get him on our side, mom and dad won't flip out as much," she agreed. "I'll send him a text and see if he can talk tonight."

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she looked at it in surprise.

"Oh, I have a text," Vida said. "I guess I missed it while we were at Rootcore…It's from Jason."

"Well, that's convenient," Chip grinned.

Nick rolled his eyes.

"What does he need?" Madison asked.

Vida opened the text to read it. Smiling, she looked up at Madison.

"He wants to know if we'd like a guest for a week or so," she said.

Madison grinned, taking the phone from Vida so she could read the text herself. Nick groaned, leaning his hand back against the wall.

"You know," Madison said, frowning. "This text doesn't sound like Jason."

"A text can't sound like anyone, Maddy," Xander said.

"Sure it can," Madison said. "You guys can tell when Vida texts you from my phone, right?"

The boys nodded in agreement.

"So, it doesn't seem like it's Jason texting this," she said. "It's too—young, I guess. Jason always spells everything out when he texts. That's not how this text is…"

"Maybe Trini sent it for him," Vida suggested as Madison handed the phone back.

Madison shrugged.

"So what is he coming for anyways?" Nick asked, moving over to join them.

"To visit," Vida said.

"But he was just here a month ago," he said. "How often is he going to come around?"

Madison and Vida frowned.

"What's wrong with him coming to visit?" Madison asked. "He's our brother."

"Yeah, I know," Nick said. "But, well—he's annoying."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Madison asked.

"All he does is glare at me," Nick said, shrugging. "And I haven't done anything. I really think he just doesn't like me because I'm the new guy."

Vida and Madison both bit their lips, stopping themselves from laughing.

"Nick, Tommy is Jason's best friend," Madison said. "And when they met, he was the new kid."

"And they were in high school," Vida added.

Nick scoffed, shaking his head. He didn't hear the door opening behind him.

"So?" he said. "Tommy also seems like a bit of nerd. He probably needed someone to look out for him and Jason jumped on the bandwagon. And that's why Jason doesn't like me. He's intimidated. I'm the new guy, sure, but I don't need someone looking after me."

"I don't think he's intimidated by you," Xander said, shaking his head.

"Then how else do you explain it?" Nick said. "I'm sorry, Maddy and V, but he's irritating."

They were both looking at him with wide eyes.

"Isn't there anything you like about him?" Chip asked.

Nick snorted.

"Not really," he said. "The guy is arrogant, rude, and acts like everyone should obey his every word as law—not exactly the kind of person who's easy to get along with."

"I'm guessing you're Nick," a voice said behind him. "I would love to say great first impression, but I don't think that fits. I do have do give you credit, though. You aren't the worst."

Nick froze, staring at his friends. They were all looking at him in shock.

"They're both right behind me, aren't they?" he asked.

They nodded slowly.

"Close," Tommy said behind him. "I'm right behind you and Jason is standing next to me, looking like he's ready to kill you."

Nick spun, taking a step backward.

"Now, we haven't been formally introduced," Tommy said. "I'm Tommy."

He held out his hand as Nick stared in surprise. Unlike last time, Tommy wasn't wearing dress clothes. Tommy was wearing cargo pants, work boots, and a black t-shirt with a green army jacket over top. His glasses were still on, but he'd spiked his hair up.

"Uh, hi," Nick said, shaking himself and quickly shaking Tommy's hand. "I'm Nick."

"Tommy!" Vida exclaimed, moving around Nick.

She and Madison both rushed to hug him, throwing their arms around him in excitement. Tommy grimaced.

"Agh…" he grunted.

Both girls immediately took a step back, looking up at him in surprise.

"Tommy, what's wrong?" Madison asked in concern.

"It's nothing," he said, trying to wave off the question. "I'm fine."

"He's got bruised ribs," Jason interrupted, hugging the girls. "Again."

They both rolled their eyes.

"Tommy," Vida said. "What did you do this time?"

"Sparring accident," he muttered, one arm wrapped around his ribs.

Jason snorted, shooting a glare at Nick.

"Accident," he said, shaking his head as he turned back to his sisters. "He was working with a couple of his students and one of them got a little—over enthusiastic…"

The girls frowned, but Tommy shook his head.

"Conner was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing," he said. "Ethan stumbled and I was stopping myself from kicking him in the head when Conner hit me from behind—my fault for not being ready."

"So I guess we won't be doing any karate with you then," Vida said.

"Not this time, V," Tommy said. "But Jason is fine. You can always beat him up instead."

Vida flinched, though she tried to hide it. Jason hit Tommy in the shoulder and he grunted in pain.

"Jason!" Madison exclaimed.

"What?" Jason said. "He deserved it."

Both girls glared at Jason.

"Tommy, maybe you should come sit down," Madison said, tugging him toward the chair on the other side of the room.

He let her pull him to the chair. Jason just smirked, turning to look at Nick.

"So, you think I'm intimidated by you, rookie?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

Taking a deep breath, Nick stayed where he was and faced Jason.

"Yeah, what of it?" Nick retorted. "You obviously have a problem with me. Got a better answer?"

Jason chuckled darkly.

"Oh, I've got a better answer," he said shortly. "But I don't have to explain myself to you. As for intimidated—let's see you prove you're intimidating first. Then maybe I'll pretend to be threatened by you."

"So does that mean we really are going to have a sparring session with you?" Xander interrupted.

Jason turned away from Nick and shrugged.

"We'll have to see how things play out," he answered. "Now, what time do you guys close tonight? Tommy and I need to go check in at our hotel, but I was thinking a late dinner."


	8. Chapter 8

"Now you see what I mean?" Jason asked a while later.

He and Tommy had just finished checking into their hotel room. The kids still had some time before they closed up for the night, so Jason and Tommy were planning to relax until it was time to meet the group for dinner. Tommy was currently stretched out on his bed, staring up at the ceiling while Jason paced around the room.

"I don't know," Tommy said. "I haven't made up my mind about him."

Jason scoffed.

"He insulted you, too, bro," he said.

Tommy shrugged.

"We've all said or done stupid things at the worst possible moment," he said. "I'm not going to hold that against him. I'll give him a fair chance."

"You're supposed to be on my side," Jason grumbled, sitting down on his bed.

Carefully shifting into a sitting position, Tommy winced and put an arm around his ribs.

"Sorry, Jase," Tommy said, shaking his head. "As an unofficial big brother for the girls, I want nothing more than to stand over Nick and scare him senseless so he'll stay away. But as a ranger, I have to be impartial. Nick is either going to earn my respect or he won't—but I have to base it on his actions, not first impressions. If I could do that, I would have let you kill Cole on that mission a few years back."

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on," he said. "That kid was asking for it. And I was not the only one annoyed by him."

"I know," Tommy said. "Believe me, I know. I'm fairly certain the only reason TJ didn't drag Cole to the simu-deck and use him as a practice dummy was because Andros threatened to disable it. And that was only after I gave him a death glare."

Jason chuckled.

"You know," he said. "I still don't understand why Wes and Eric like him so much."

"Oh, they don't," Tommy said, shaking his head. "They just tolerate him better than the rest of us. Remember dinner the one night when Cole flipped out?"

Frowning, Jason nodded.

"Well, there was a reason," Tommy grinned. "Wes stuck something gross in his dinner, so he went to take a drink. But Eric had put hot sauce in his drink."

Jason burst out laughing.

"Wish I had thought of that," he laughed. "The look on the kid's face was priceless. It's still beyond me how his team tolerates him."

Tommy shrugged.

"He's like an annoying little brother," he said. "He's your brother, and you care about him, but you really just don't want him tagging along all of the time."

"All of the time?" Jason said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ok, most of the time," Tommy conceded. "The point is, he grows on you eventually—during the moments when you don't want to hurt him. And we both need to give Nick the same chance. There's a reason neither of us brought morphers—we're only here to observe."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jason grumbled. "I know. Reserve final judgment until we've had the chance to observe. Got it."

Chuckling, Tommy leaned back against the headboard.

"So," he said. "How interested are you in that training session? Because I've got a couple of ideas that might just take the young rangers by surprise."

Jason started laughing as Tommy grinned.

"So, how long do you think we'll get to spend with the kids before they ditch us?" Tommy said, glancing over at Jason.

They were walking through the park on their way to meet Madison, Vida, and the boys for the afternoon. The group had begged off hanging out that morning, so Tommy and Jason had guessed they'd had some kind of training scheduled. They'd taken the flimsy excuses without question, knowing it wasn't always easy explaining sudden absences.

"Who knows?" Jason shrugged. "I barely saw them the last time I was here…"

"And that's why we didn't have a lot of other friends in high school," Tommy grinned. "It's hard to spend time with anyone when you're constantly on call—with no way to judge when the next attack is going to come…"

"Yeah," Jason sighed, nodding. "I'm just hoping not to repeat the vampire incident."

"You and me both," Tommy said, shaking his head.

Hearing screaming start a short distance away, Tommy and Jason both snapped their heads around to try and figure out where it was coming from.

"There goes our afternoon plans," Tommy said as they both took off in the direction of the screams.

They found people running in panic from some strange looking creatures and a couple of monsters. Tommy and Jason immediately started shouting for people to run, jumping into the fray to help them escape.

"What a fine day it is to harvest your life-force!" one of the monsters cackled. "You'll do just fine! Take it, Spydex!"

"Laser lift!" they heard someone shout. "Get those people to safety!"

Tommy and Jason glanced around to see the rangers charging in. But they didn't stop getting people away from the creatures. A short distance away, the rangers started helping people escape.

"Come with me!" Xander called, helping a few people stumble away.

Just a few yards away, Madison was flipping over a Hidiac.

"Run!" she shouted, looking around.

She didn't see Tommy and Jason in the middle of everything, too focused on the people in her immediate vicinity.

"Go!" Nick ordered, snapping at a few more civilians.

The rangers fought off the Hidiacs, trying to give the civilians as much of a chance to get away as possible. Then Chip caught sight of some of the Hidiacs surrounding a father and daughter.

"Stop!" he shouted, running to help.

He cried out when he was struck by a blast from Gnatu, the monster stealing the people's life-force. It caused him to stumble backward. Before he could catch himself and charge again, several Hidiacs grabbed him and held him back.

"Let me go!" he cried, struggling to get away. "No!"

Gnatu stepped forward to take the father and daughter's life force, but she was stopped by a sudden interruption as Tommy and Jason intervened. Tommy grabbed the little girl, shouting for the father to follow as Jason took on the Hidiacs. He turned and ran, holding the little girl as he bolted away from the creatures. Chip watched in surprise as Jason actually forced the undead minions back a few paces, his kicks and punches hitting hard.

"Get off!" Chip yelled, still trying to pull away from the Hidiacs.

The Hidiacs recovered faster than Jason was ready for and one of them hit him hard. Jason went flying backward. He landed hard several yards away with the Hidiacs chasing after him. Chip finally broke free, throwing off the Hidiacs and running to help. But the father, who'd been trying to run after Tommy, was closer. They caught him and, before Chip could do anything, Gnatu stole the man's life force. Chip shouted in rage, attacking the Hidiacs and Gnatu to keep them away from Jason. Madison and Vida's big brother was still on the ground, pushing himself up.

"Come on!" Chip shouted, attacking Gnatu.

She caught him, pinning Chip in place.

"You're too late," Gnatu cackled as he tried to break free.

"What did you do to him?" Chip demanded.

"I just relieved them of their life-force," she answered. "I have a better use for it. Don't worry. They don't feel a thing."

"Fiend!" Chip cried, pulling loose and attacking again.

But Gnatu blasted him, sending Chip flying. The other rangers were still busy getting people away and fighting the remaining Hidiacs.

"I'm not done yet!" Chip growled, charging again.

But Gnatu just sent him flying again.

"And you call yourselves protectors of the city?" Gnatu laughed. "What a joke!"

Before Chip could pull himself to his feet, she was gone with her monster.

"Hey Chip!" Nick exclaimed, rushing over to help him up.

The Hidiacs were gone and all of the rangers hurried to Chip's side.

"Are you ok?" Vida asked as Chip slowly got to his feet.

"Yeah," he muttered, shaking his head. "But these people aren't. I couldn't save them…"

"You tried your best," Daggeron said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"But it wasn't good enough!" Chip snapped.

"Hey, rangers," Tommy snapped, drawing all of their attention. "Sorry to bother you, but we've got a problem."

He was helping Jason to his feet, the little girl still clinging in terror to his waist. The rangers froze, looking at the two men in shock.

"Are you both alright?" Daggeron asked, taking a step forward.

"I'm fine," Tommy said shortly. "But I think he twisted something—he can't put weight on his ankle."

Jason was leaning on Tommy, grimacing as he tested his left foot again. Putting weight on it, he nearly fell. Vida started to jump forward to help him, but Madison put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"We can't," she whispered quietly.

Vida sighed, but stayed where she was.

"Daddy!" the little girl cried, seeing her dad lying on the ground.

Tommy put out a hand to stop her from running over, leaving Jason to carefully balance himself. Crouching down, Tommy pulled the little girl close.

"It's going to be alright," he said softly, hugging her. "The power rangers will fix this and get your dad back—I promise."

The rangers froze, exchanging glances. But Tommy ignored them, speaking softly with the girl a little longer. Finally he stood up, picking her up again and hiding a wince from her as he jarred his ribs. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against him.

"We appreciate what you're doing," Tommy said, looking at the rangers again. "But the police are going to be here soon to deal with these people. So, unless you plan on talking to them…"

He trailed off, looking at them expectantly.

"Let's go," Daggeron said.

Nodding, the other rangers turned and followed, disappearing. And not a moment too soon. Emergency responders began arriving on scene. After reassuring the little girl again, Tommy let one of the responders take her to check her over and turned his attention to Jason.

"Come on, Rex," Tommy said, putting an arm around Jason to help him walk. "Let's get that ankle checked out."

Jason limped along beside him toward one of the ambulances that was pulling up.

"I can't believe you made that promise in front of the rangers, bro," he chuckled. "I could almost see their eyes popping out of their heads behind those visors when you promised the kid they'd fix it."

"Oh, this is getting fixed," Tommy said grimly. "If they can't, my team will. I'm not letting this go."

"Don't worry," Jason said, shaking his head. "Neither am I."

He grimaced as he put too much weight on his ankle again and nearly fell. Tommy sighed.

"Well, we'll give the kids a chance first," he said. "For the moment, let's make sure you didn't break anything."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Saving Madison**_

"_You're mean!" Madison shouted at Vida. "I don't wanna play anymore!"_

_Spinning, she darted away from her sister and out of the room. They had been playing in their room, but an argument had broken out over one of the toys. Vida had taken it away from Madison, not sharing anymore. Running down the stairs with tears in her eyes, Madison stopped in the downstairs hallway. She could hear her mother in the kitchen, but she didn't want to talk to anyone. So she quietly put on her shoes and slipped out the front door, tying her jacket around her waist._

"_I'm going to the park," she mumbled as she shut the door silently behind her. "I'll play all by myself."_

_The park was just down the block from their house and she'd walked there dozens of times with her parents, so she knew the way. Humming to herself, Madison skipped down the street to the park and went straight to the swing set. No one had seen her, so no one had tried to stop her and she was okay with that._

"_I'll go home when I want to," she said out loud to the currently empty park. _

_For a while she swung by herself, humming to break the silence. But the peace of the quiet park was suddenly shattered by the appearance of the odd grey men. Madison froze in fear, clinging to the swing set. Not far away she saw the power rangers appear, but she couldn't bring herself to scream for help and they didn't see her. The grey men swarmed the area, darting around her as she shook in terror. _

"_Well, at least the report is done," Tommy sighed, looking at his watch as he turned to cut through the park. "I'm gonna be late for dinner, but my homework is done."_

_He'd been at the library working on a report. By himself again, but that was normal the past few weeks. Ever since the birthday party blow-up when Jason threw him out, none of the other rangers had really spoken to him. He knew they'd been busy, but he had kind of hoped they wouldn't just forget about him—no matter what Jason felt. Sighing again, Tommy started jogging as he reached the park. Hearing shouting, he paused and looked around. There were putties nearby which meant the rangers wouldn't be far behind._

"_There they are," he said, seeing Kim and Zach fighting back to back. _

_Shaking himself, he started moving again. _

"_Gotta stay out of it," he muttered to himself. "I can't help them anymore…"_

_He glanced back one more time when something caught his attention. There was a small figure curled up on one of the swings of the nearby swing set—one he recognized immediately._

"_Madison!' he exclaimed._

_Ignoring the fact that he wasn't a ranger anymore and he was supposed to leave the fighting to them, Tommy charged into the swarm of putties around the swing set. There were so many around that apparently none of the rangers had noticed this particular group yet. As Tommy fought his way through the putties, one of them grabbed his backpack. So he slipped out of it and spun, kicking the puttie in the chest and knocking it backward. Leaving his backpack where it fell, Tommy darted through an opening to the swings._

"_Come on, Maddy," he said, holding his arms out to her._

"_Tommy!" she cried, bursting into tears as she threw her arms around his neck._

_Her jacket got caught on the swing and pulled off her waist, but neither of them noticed._

"_Don't worry," he said, holding her tightly as he turned. "I'm gonna get you home."_

_She nodded, burying her face against his shoulder as she clung to him. Tommy studied the putties quickly as they regrouped to attack him. They knew who he was and Madison's presence wasn't going to stop them from trying to take him back to Rita if they could get him. Dodging the grasp of one of the putties, he darted through the rest of them going for evasion rather than attack. Slipping through the group, he ran as quickly as he could away from the fight. He knew from experience that the putties wouldn't follow far as their target was actually the other rangers. He wasn't any use to Rita without his coin. But Tommy still didn't slow down until they were almost to the Rocca house._

"_You're alright," he said soothingly, smoothing Madison's hair as he caught his breath. "They can't get you here, I promise."_

"_I tried to scream," she stammered, her eyes full of tears as she looked up at him. "But there were lots of them and the power rangers were far away…"_

"_I know," he said. "But you're alright now. Did any of them touch you?"_

_She shook her head quickly._

"_I stayed on the swing," she said. _

"_Good girl," Tommy smiled as he knocked on the door. _

_It flew open almost immediately to reveal a frazzled Mrs. Rocca._

"_Madison!" she exclaimed in relief, reaching for her daughter. "Oh, Tommy. Thank you. Where was she?"_

"_At the park," he said. "Found her on the swing set—"_

"_Mommy, Tommy saved me from the bad grey men," Madison said, hugging her mom as she looked at Tommy. "There were lots of them and he fought them and rescued me."_

_Mrs. Rocca looked at Tommy in surprise. He just shrugged, ducking his head._

"_Are you alright?" she asked. "Both of you?"_

_Madison nodded, still beaming at Tommy. Whatever grudge the seven-year-old had held from her birthday party was apparently gone now. _

"_I'm fine," Tommy said quickly. "But I should probably be getting home."_

"_Are you sure?" Mrs. Rocca frowned. "You are welcome to stay for dinner."_

_Tommy shook his head. _

"_Nah, that's alright," he said. "I have to get home anyways. Mom is expecting me. Thanks for the offer. Bye, Maddy."_

_Waving, he turned and jogged off down the street back toward the park. Sighing, Mrs. Rocca turned and headed back inside, scolding Madison for running off. Partway down the street, Tommy froze. _

"_Aww man…" he muttered. "My book report—I don't want to start over again. Guess I really am going back to the park…"_

"_Well, that was weird," Kim frowned, looking around at the now empty park. "I wonder why they left in such a hurry…"_

_The putties had disappeared almost as quickly as they had appeared. And there had been no monster to take their place. Not even Goldar had shown up. The rangers had powered down now and were making sure there weren't any other putties in the area. _

"_Who knows," Zach grinned. "Maybe they're just that scared of us now?"_

_Jason rolled his eyes._

"_I seriously doubt that," he said, shaking his head. _

"_Hey guys!" Trini called, catching their attention. "I think we might have a problem."_

_As they all jogged toward her, standing a short distance from the swing set, she held up a green backpack. _

"_Hey, isn't that Tommy's backpack?" Zach said._

_Kim nodded, staring at it. Jason took the bag from Trini, taking a deep breath as he looked around again, hoping to see Tommy somewhere. No matter how mad he was, he didn't want Tommy to be Rita's puppet again. _

"_But then where—" Zach cut off. "Oh boy…That might explain the putties sudden disappearance…"_

"_We may have a larger problem at hand," Billy said slowly, leaning over to pick something up by the swings. "I believe this is Madison's jacket."_

_Turning, he held it out the jacket to Jason._

"_No," Jason said, shaking his head. "That can't be hers. She's safe at home right where she's supposed to be. There's no way she was here in the park."_

"_Jason, it has her name in it," Billy said quietly, showing Jason the tag._

_Jason groaned, taking the jacket from Billy._

"_Jason, we'll find her," Trini said. "We'll find both of them."_

"_I have to check at home," Jason said, turning to head to his house. "Go find Tommy."_

_Nodding, the rangers scattered to look for Tommy as Jason bolted toward home. Wanting to get there as quickly as possible, he cut through several backyards instead of taking the street. When he arrived, he burst into the house. Vida came running to meet him, Madison right behind her. Jason sighed in relief and dropped Tommy's bag by the door, crouching down to hug both of them tightly. _

"_You lost something, Maddy," he said, holding out her jacket. "How did this get in the park?"_

"_I went to the park," she said solemnly, taking her jacket and holding it tightly. "All by myself—mommy isn't happy…"_

_Jason frowned._

"_When did you do that?" he said._

"_Umm…" Madison said, thinking hard. "A little while ago. The bad grey men came and they scared me."_

_Grimacing, Jason took a deep breath as he glanced over his little sister. He hadn't seen her at the park, which meant she probably had run from the putties and dropped her jacket when she ran._

"_Tommy saved me," Madison continued, not having seen the look on Jason's face. "The grey men were all around me and Tommy fought them and made them go away so he could rescue me. He carried me all the way back home and made sure I was safe before he went away again."_

_She beamed up at Jason who looked back in surprise._

"_Tommy saved you?" he said._

_Madison nodded eagerly, grinning from ear to ear. Straightening up, Jason took a deep breath as he ran a hand over his head. _

"_Did Tommy say where he was going?" Jason asked. _

"_He said he had to go home," Mrs. Rocca answered, coming out of the kitchen. "But I just got off the phone with his mother and he still hasn't made it there. He should be there by now. Did you see him on your way home?"_

_Jason shook his head._

"_No, I didn't," he said. "But I think I'll just make a run in that direction. Just to make sure he didn't get sidetracked somewhere."_

"_Alright," Mrs. Rocca sighed. "But be careful and hurry back. Dinner is almost ready."_

_Nodding, Jason turned and started heading toward the door. When he stopped to pick up the back pack, Madison saw it and grabbed Jason's sleeve._

"_Is Tommy coming over?" she asked, looking up at Jason with a big smile. "Mommy said he can eat dinner with us."_

"_I think he's supposed to go home for dinner," Jason said, glancing toward the door._

_He was anxious to go find Tommy and make sure he was alright. _

"_Well, if he hasn't made it home why don't you invite him back here?" Mrs. Rocca said from the kitchen door. "We've got plenty. And it's the least we can do after he rescued Maddy and brought her home. I'll give his mother a call and let her know."_

_Jason nodded, scooting closer to the door._

"_Sounds great, mom," he said. "I'll go find him. Be back soon."_

_Spinning, he darted out the door. Racing back down the street, Tommy's backpack still in hand, he headed for the park again, hoping to find Tommy somewhere along the way. But it wasn't until he reached the park that he finally found Tommy. The former green ranger was by the swing set, muttering to himself as he looked around._

"_I could have sworn it fell somewhere around here," he muttered. "Unless the putties took it…But why would they take my bag? There's nothing they can use in there and I really need that report…"_

_Sighing, he paused, glancing around again. Tommy froze when he caught sight of Jason watching him. For a moment, neither of them spoke as they watched each other._

"_Lose something?" Jason finally asked, holding up Tommy's backpack._

"_Yeah," Tommy said warily, not moving any closer. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Looking for you," Jason answered, dropping his arm. _

_Tommy glanced around nervously as he took a step back. There was no one else in the park, the earlier fight having completely cleared the area. _

"_Listen, Jason," he said, still not moving closer. "I—I really don't want to fight with you right now…I'm already late for dinner and—and if you really want to fight with me can we please just do this later? I really just need my backpack so I can get home…"_

_Jason sighed._

"_Tommy, I'm not going to hit you," he said._

_Tommy raised an eyebrow._

"_Uh huh," he said doubtfully. "Last time I checked the only reason you wanted to see me was to hit me."_

"_Well, I don't anymore," Jason retorted._

"_Then why are you here?" Tommy asked._

"_Because I was looking for you," Jason repeated. _

"_Why?" Tommy said suspiciously._

"_Because I just came from my house," Jason sighed._

_Tommy flinched._

"_Look, I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I know I'm supposed to stay away from your sisters, but she was surrounded and you were busy and—and I just couldn't see her get hurt…"_

_Jason started shaking his head. _

"_Tommy, relax," he said. "I'm seriously not going to hurt you. I—I was wrong before…"_

_Tommy eyed him hesitantly, not sure how to take Jason's sudden attitude change. Jason took a deep breath._

"_Listen, bro," he said. "I really don't know what else to say…I was wrong, ok? I'm sorry. It was a bad week with ranger stuff and she was crying and I took it out on you. I can't help being overprotective of them…"_

_But Tommy was still watching him nervously, not sure how to react. _

"_Would you just get over here and take this?" Jason grumbled, hefting the backpack again. "I promise I'm not going to hit you."_

"_Alright," Tommy said._

_Taking a deep breath, he walked over to Jason and took his backpack. Jason didn't move except to hand it over. _

"_See?" he said. "I didn't hit you. I really am sorry…"_

_Tommy smiled hesitantly._

"_Thanks," he said. "But I should be getting home. I really am late for dinner and—"_

"_That's alright," Jason interrupted. "Your mom already knows where you are."_

_Tommy frowned._

"_What do you mean?" he asked. _

"_My mom called her," he said. "You're coming back and eating dinner with us."_

"_I'm what?" Tommy said in surprise._

"_Dinner at my house," Jason said. "Maddy insisted I bring you back."_

_Tommy shook his head._

"_I doubt that," he said. "She hates me, remember?"_

_Jason scoffed._

"_She's seven, bro," he said. "She changes her mind all the time. You're her favorite right now."_

"_I really don't think so…" Tommy said slowly._

_Jason laughed._

"_I'll bet you that you are," he said. "Come back to my house and you'll see. You'll be the first one she hugs when we walk in the door. She barely even hugged me when I came home. She was too excited to tell me about you."_

_Tommy started laughing and Jason started laughing harder. For a few moments they just stood there. Then Jason bumped a shoulder against Tommy's, jerking his head in the direction of his house._

"_You coming?" he asked, looking at Tommy. _

"_Yeah," Tommy nodded._

_Grinning, Jason nodded back and they started walking. _

"_Are we good then?" he asked as they left the park._

_Tommy was silent for a moment, and then smiled as he nodded._

"_We're good," he said. _

_Jason grinned as they kept walking._

"_That's great," he said. "But I do have a question."_

"_What is it?" Tommy asked._

"_What on earth were you thinking running into an army of putties?" Jason exclaimed._

_Tommy shrugged._

"_Your sister was in the middle of them," he said. "What was I supposed to do? Run through or around them and come get you instead? You were practically on the other side of the park."_

"_You could have yelled," Jason countered._

_Tommy snorted._

"_Yeah, cause you guys would have heard me from the swings with all the shouting you were doing," he said. "Besides, I didn't want to risk something happening if I hesitated. So I reacted. Everything turned out alright."_

_Jason rolled his eyes, but gave Tommy a grateful look._

"_Thanks," he said quietly. _

_Tommy nodded and they continued down the street. They laughed as they caught up on the last few weeks. Continuing to push back and forth, they settled back into a comfortable pattern as they headed back to Jason's house._

"_Are you sure you should be ignoring that?" Tommy asked, glancing at Jason._

_His communicator had just gone off again, but Jason was ignoring it. It was after dinner and both of them were sitting in Jason's room. Jason was sprawled across his bed while Tommy had claimed the bean bag, pulling it out of the corner and making himself comfortable. When they had gotten back to the house earlier, Madison had proven Jason right by running straight to Tommy and hugging him excitedly. He'd sat next to her during dinner, smiling as she chatted non-stop, showing no signs of the distress she'd exhibited at the birthday party. After eating, Tommy had gotten permission to stay a little longer and finish up the rest of his homework with Jason while they hung out._

"_It can't be that important," Jason said, shrugging. "If it was Alpha would have just teleported me to the Command Center by now. I'll call back after you leave."_

"_I can always go," Tommy said._

_Jason glared at him and chucked a pillow across the room. Tommy ducked, laughing as it missed him. The sound of the doorbell and Mrs. Rocca hurrying to answer the door caught both of their attention._

"_Are you expecting more company?" Tommy asked, frowning as he glanced toward Jason's door._

_Jason shook his head._

"_No," he said. "It's past eight. I have no idea who'd be here this late."_

_Hopping off of his bed, he hurried over to his door and cracked it open so they could listen._

"_Hello, Kimberly," they heard Mrs. Rocca saying as opened the door. "Is there something I can help you with?"_

"_Hi, Mrs. Rocca," Kim answered. "Is Jason home? I need to talk to him real quick."_

"_Of course," she said. "He's up in his room. Go on up—he's still awake. Tommy is with him."_

"_Thank you!" Kim said._

_They heard the door shut downstairs and Jason turned to look at Tommy, his eyes wide._

"_I am so dead," he said. _

_Tommy frowned._

"_Why?" he asked._

"_Because I completely forgot to tell the others that I found you," he said. "They were out looking for you…"_

"_Why?" Tommy repeated. _

_Jason shrugged sheepishly. _

"_Well, when we found your backpack in the park we thought maybe the putties had taken you. And Then Billy found Maddy's jacket," he said. "So I ran back here to look for Maddy and the others went to search everywhere else…"_

_Tommy started shaking his head._

"_Yeah, you're dead," he said as the door flew open. _

_Jason leapt away from the door as Kim marched inside. She immediately fixated on Tommy, glaring at him._

"_Why didn't you tell us where you were?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips._

"_Because Jason only just told me you guys were looking for me about thirty seconds ago," Tommy protested as he stood up._

_Kim frowned, turning her glared on Jason._

"_Jason Scott!" she snapped. "What were you thinking?"_

"_I forgot," he said. "I found him and then we were talking and then he came over for dinner and the girls were really excited and—"_

"_You found him before dinner?" she burst out. "Jason, we've been panicking for hours! Billy is still at the Command Center trying to track what Rita is doing!"_

_Tommy stifled a laugh, turning it into a cough at the look on Jason's face. Kim huffed, turning to Tommy._

"_I'm walking you home," she said. _

"_Kim, you don't need to do that," Tommy said, shaking his head._

"_Too bad," she said. "I'm walking home with you because I want to make sure you actually make it there in one piece without disappearing again."_

_Tommy didn't protest any further._

"_Alright," he said, grabbing his bag. "I'm ready when you are."_

_Jason frowned at him in surprise, but Tommy just shrugged. Kim ignored Jason's look, slipping her hand into Tommy's and tugging him toward the door. She paused before they left._

"_By the way, Jason," she said. "You get to call the others and let them know what happened. The whole story—including the fact that you found him hours ago and forgot to tell us. I will check to make sure they know. I'd recommend starting with Trini."_

_Smirking at him, she spun and walked out with Tommy, still holding his hand. He was now laughing out loud at the look on Jason's face. Jason started to protest, but then gave up and shut his door so he could call the others on the communicator._

"_Oh, this is going to go over well," he muttered to himself. "I'm going to be dead by morning…"_


	10. Chapter 10

"See anything, Xander?" Chip asked anxiously.

"No," Xander said, shaking his head. "No traces of dark magic anywhere in the city."

Chip sighed and turned away. After leaving the park, they'd headed straight back to Rootcore to try and track down Gnatu and Spydex. Chip was desperate to get back the stolen life-force.

"Madison?" Chip said hopefully.

She sighed, closing the book she'd been looking through.

"No spells that can help restore those peoples' life-force," she said.

"Keep looking," Chip said.

"Yeah," Madison nodded, grabbing another book.

"Chip, we're doing everything we can to help those people," Daggeron said, walking over. "This isn't your fault."

"Yes it is," Chip said shortly. "I was supposed to protect them, and I blew it! And Jason got hurt again and the only reason those creeps didn't get the little girl was because Tommy got in the way. I didn't do anything for them…"

He sighed, staring down at his feet.

"Whoa!" Jenji interrupted, laughing. "Want another one? Oh. There you go. And another one? What a chowhound! He's cute. I like him."

He was feeding Fire Heart, who was enjoying the attention.

"He sure is hungry," Vida grinned, watching.

"Maybe you're feeding him too much," Nick said.

Udonna came walking in, shaking her head.

"Well, I've always found it pays to give a dragon all he wants to eat," she said. "Before he wants to eat you."

Jenji jumped.

"Yikes!" he exclaimed. "Uh, open wide!"

He tossed the rest of the food he was holding to Fire Heart as the others laughed. Then Nick suddenly cried out in pain, clutching his head as he stumbled back against the wall.

"_The time has come for me to battle Solaris Knight,"_ Koragg spoke into his mind.

Nick panted, leaning against the wall behind him.

"What's wrong?" Daggeron said, looking at Nick in concern.

"It's Koragg," Nick answered slowly. "He wants to fight you."

"Fight Koragg?" Jenji exclaimed.

But Daggeron just nodded in acceptance.

"Very well," he said. "Tell him to meet me in the twilight dimension."

Udonna placed a hand on his arm.

"Be careful," she cautioned. "Koragg is a fierce warrior."

"I'll say," said Jenji.

"I can handle him," Daggeron said. "Remember, I was taught by the best."

Calling his train, Daggeron left Rootcore. But he hadn't been gone for more than a few moments when Xander caught everyone's attention.

"Guys, we got action, too," he said.

As Xander leapt up from the computer, they all turned and headed out of Rootcore.

* * *

"Hey, over there!" exclaimed Chip as they landed, looking around.

They were already morphed and ready for battle. Taking the coordinates from the computer, they'd headed straight for the signal's location. But they didn't see anything immediately.

"The dark magic's signal was right around here," Xander said, looking around.

As they all looked around, Spydex dropped down from above.

"Whoa!" the all exclaimed, stumbling out of the way.

"I'll get you this time!" Chip shouted, charging the monster.

The rest of the rangers followed. While Chip distracted Spydex, Nick took action.

"I'll get the life-force!" he said, pulling out his wand. "Magi staff!"

He hit Spydex on the back, the place where the souls were being gathered. His attack released the souls in a white orb. Chip leapt to snatch it up.

"It's mine!" he shouted in triumph. "Good one, Nick!"

But his excitement was short lived as Gnatu suddenly snatched the orb away.

"Hey!" Chip cried, looking around to see where it had gone.

"Up here, ranger," Gnatu laughed. "You snooze, you lose! Spydex?"

Both Gnatu and Spydex took off.

"No!" Chip cried.

Determined to stop them, the rangers gave chase.

* * *

"You know, you're supposed to be staying off that ankle, bro," Tommy said, glancing over at Jason.

Jason shot a glare at him, but continued to limp down the street. They'd left the park a short time before. Emergency responders were still trying to decide what to do with the people who'd had their souls taken. But, despite one of the responders urging them to stay, Tommy and Jason had taken off. They knew there was no point in sticking around, because the only way to help those people was to defeat the monster.

"Yeah, well, how else am I supposed to get anywhere?" Jason grumbled. "I'm not about to let you carry me."

Tommy snorted.

"Who said I would anyways?" he retorted. "You're too fat."

Jason shot a glare at him, wincing again.

"Shut up," he snapped. "I can still move faster than you can right now with those ribs of yours, so don't make me hurt you."

"Fair point," Tommy said, still smirking. "But if you really wanted to hurt me, you'd have already done it."

Jason growled, but Tommy just chuckled, reaching out to catch Jason as he stumbled. Grimacing, Jason leaned against the wall of a building for a moment. Tommy waited patiently for him, one arm carefully holding his ribs.

"How bad are they bothering you?" Jason asked, catching the brief look of pain that flashed across Tommy's face.

"Bad enough," Tommy answered. "I'll be fine."

"You know I don't believe that for a second, Falcon," Jason snorted. "You've been saying that since high school—and it usually means you aren't."

Tommy shrugged, trying to hide another wince from the movement.

"I'll survive," he said. "Let's keep moving."

Nodding, Jason straightened up again and started limping down the sidewalk. Tommy stuck close by, just in case Jason's ankle gave out again.

* * *

The rangers finally caught up to Gnatu and Spydex, who spun a giant web stretched between several buildings. Halting at the edge of the rooftop, they looked out at Spydex in the center.

"You up for this, Xander?" Chip asked, glancing at his friend.

"Yeah!" Xander answered.

"Come on guys! We can do this!" Nick said, stepping toward the web.

"I'm ready!" Vida nodded.

"Come on!" said Madison.

"I'll protect the web," Chip said.

The other four rangers nodded and started slowly out onto the strands of the web.

"All right," Nick said, taking careful steps. "Easy now."

They hadn't made it more than a few steps out onto the web when Spydex started firing blasts at them. The web shook and Xander slipped, barely catching hold.

"Hang on, Xander!" Madison cried.

Another blast hit the strands the girls were on, knocking them off the web with a cry. They plummeted toward the cement stories below.

"Mystic muscles!" Xander cried, using one of his spells.

Swinging down on a piece of the web, he caught both Vida and Madison. He landed on his feet, holding both girls.

"Gotcha," he said, looking at them as they landed. "You all right?"

"Yeah, thanks," Madison said gratefully.

"We owe you one," Vida agreed.

They looked up to see Nick fall after another blast, watching in horror as he plummeted toward the ground.

"Magi staff!" Nick cried, casting a spell.

The tables he was falling toward suddenly turned into giant pillows. Nick hit them, bouncing a few times before flipping off and landing on his feet.

"That was close," he said, breathing a sigh of relief as the girls and Xander ran over to him.

Up on the rooftop, Chip was left alone to face Spydex.

"Mystic force fighters!" he shouted, casting the spell. "You're going down!"

He attacked Spydex, hitting the monster at full strength. The attack punched through the web and drove Spydex toward the ground.

"Hope you like the taste of concrete!" Chip cried, smashing the monster into the ground below.

The other rangers shouted in triumph as Chip got to his feet.

"Think it's over?" Gnatu mocked. "Think again."

There was a flash of light and suddenly Spydex began to grow.

"Destroy them all," Gnatu ordered.

Tommy and Jason had just turned down a side street when they heard the shouting and felt the ground shaking. Looking around, they saw the monster from earlier looming over the buildings.

"There!" Jason exclaimed, turning and moving as quickly as he could toward the monster.

"Jason!" Tommy said, turning to follow. "We're supposed to stay away from zord battles! Getting stepped on is not on my list of things to do today."

But Jason ignored him. Sighing, Tommy continued to follow him.

"Hey, nice work!" Nick said to Chip.

"Thanks!" Chip answered as they turned to fight the quickly growing Spydex.

"It's megazord time!" Xander shouted.

Calling the megazord, the rangers fought back against the giant monster. After a short time, they managed to knock the orb away from Spydex again.

"Look!" Chip cried.

Dropping out of their megazord form, the rangers hit the ground running. But they couldn't get there fast enough.

"Yes, I'll take that," Gnatu mocked. "Spydex!"

Before any of the rangers could move to stop them, Gnatu and Spydex disappeared.

"Great, we lost them again," Xander sighed.

* * *

Tommy and Jason saw the ranger's megazord disband as they approached the scene of the fight. The monster disappeared as they rounded the corner. A short distance away, they could see the rangers shaking their heads. They weren't morphed anymore. Instead, they were dressed in uniforms, cloaks and all. Both Tommy and Jason slowed down, not intending to let the kids know they were there.

"What's this?" they heard Chip ask as the group started to turn around.

His voice carried over the empty space between the rangers and the two men. Tommy and Jason watched in shock as Chip reached down to pick up an odd black bottle sitting alone on the ground. Both of them knew it was never a good idea to pick up something suspicious like that—it never ended well.

"Oh, no," Tommy muttered. "Don't touch that Chip!"

He shouted as he darted away, his form blurring as he tapped into his ninjetti powers. Jason groaned and chased after him as best he could on his injured ankle.

"Wait, Chip," Madison was saying, covering up Tommy's warning shout. "I don't think you should—"

But Chip had already opened the bottle. As he pulled the top off, Tommy grabbed his wrist to try and stop him, but it was too late. Chip released what was inside. A black mist burst from the bottle, striking out at the forms closest to it—Chip and Tommy. Surprised by the sudden attack, and moving too quickly, Tommy wasn't able to stop immediately and stumbled away, falling to the ground a short distance away. None of the rangers had noticed his appearance. They were all focused on Chip and Tommy had been moving too quickly for them to follow.

"Chip!" Nick cried as Chip collapsed to the ground.

"Chip!" Xander echoed.

The rangers all rushed to him as he convulsed in pain on the cement. Laughter caught their attention. They spun to see Necrolai watching them.

"It's a soul specter," she smirked. "Bye-bye, yellow ranger."

Jason had watched in horror as Tommy tried to stop Chip from opening the bottle. When he saw the black mist hit Chip and Tommy, Jason put on an extra burst of speed, ignoring the pain in his ankle. The kids, all still completely focused on Chip and the vampire that appeared behind them, didn't notice Jason reaching Tommy just after he hit the ground.

"Tommy!" Jason exclaimed, dropping down next to him. "You just have to be the hero, don't you, Falcon? Can't stay out of trouble for a minute, can you?"

Tommy grimaced, trying to push himself up. He couldn't, collapsing back down to the pavement. Jason rolled him over in concern, grimacing at the sight of the vortex eating into Tommy. Tense, and clearly in pain, Tommy winced at the movement. With the vampire gone, he turned to the kids. They were hovering over Chip and still hadn't seen them. Jason took a deep breath.

"Hey, rookie," Jason snapped. "You need to learn to watch your surroundings. You've got more problems than you realize. And you had better tell me how to fix this real quick."

Nick, Madison, Vida, and Xander all froze in shock, slowly lifting their heads to look at Jason. None of them spoke, as they were too surprised to see him crouched there with Tommy to react.

"What are you going to do about this?" Jason growled, looking at them expectantly.

"What?" Madison finally managed to choke out.

"Drop the act," Jason said shortly. "I've known about you all being the power rangers since before my first visit. Not the issue right now."

All of them looked at him with wide eyes. Nick was the first to snap out of it.

"What do you know?" he asked suspiciously, straightening up and moving to stand between Jason and Chip.

"I know everything," Jason snapped back.

He stood, too, carefully pulling Tommy up with him. Tommy swayed, shaking as he leaned heavily on Jason. His shirt shifted slightly as he stood, revealing the same swirling vortex that was attacking Chip. Madison and Vida gasped in shock.

"Tommy!" they exclaimed.

"Yeah," Jason said grimly. "Now what are you going to do about it?"

Nick glared at Jason.

"Come on," he snapped, turning to help Chip up. "We'll take them with us—not that we have much of a choice right now. We need to get back to Rootcore fast."

"Great," Jason growled. "Lead the way."

Nodding tersely, Nick took off with the others following. Xander and Vida were supporting Chip, who was having trouble keeping his feet under him. Madison hurried to help Jason, still limping, with Tommy.

"But how—how did the specter get Tommy?" Madison asked, looking at Jason as they walked. "We didn't see him anywhere until after…"

He shook his head, blatantly not answering the question.

"Not now, Maddy," he said.

She bit her lip, but didn't push for an answer, recognizing the tone in Jason's voice. He wasn't in a mood to explain anything. With Chip and Tommy moving so slowly, it took longer than normal to get back to Rootcore. Once they'd reached relative safety, Nick rushed on ahead, calling Udonna as they went. Udonna rushed out of Rootcore to meet them as they approached the entrance. Nick stopped her as the others were catching up to him.

"We have a problem," he said grimly.

She frowned, but turned her attention to the approaching group. Though she was a shocked to see Tommy and Jason with the rangers, she didn't let it throw her.

"Udonna, what's happening to them?" Madison cried when she saw the sorceress.

"Let me see," Udonna said gently, stepping up to Chip. "A soul specter…"

She sighed, shaking her head.

"The specter is devouring his soul from the inside," Udonna said in way of explanation.

The rangers eyes widened, but Jason just grimaced, looking at Tommy. With Madison's focus on what Udonna was saying, he pulled Tommy a little off to the side, allowing him to sink down to the ground.

"Hang on, Falcon," he said quietly. "We'll figure this out."

Tommy just nodded, leaning against the tree behind him as Jason hovered protectively.

"There's got to be a way to get that thing out of them," Vida exclaimed.

"The staff of topaz is the only thing that can draw out a soul specter," said Daggeron, rushing to join them.

He'd heard what Udonna had said as he approached.

"Where is it?" Xander asked urgently.

"Let's go get it," Nick said in agreement.

"No," Daggeron said firmly, shaking his head. "Briarwood is under attack. You need to stay here. I'll take Chip to the staff."

"And Tommy, too," Vida insisted, glancing over her shoulder.

Daggeron, not having seen the other two men behind the rangers, frowned.

"Who?" he asked.

"Tommy," Madison said as the rangers shifted so Daggeron could see them. "The specter caught him, too…"

Daggeron looked at Tommy and Jason in surprise, but Jason just crossed his arms and returned the stare without flinching.

"Daggeron," Udonna said quietly. "The staff is at the top of Mount Isis. You know what a treacherous journey that is."

He nodded.

"I know," he said. "But it's the only way. And we'll have to hurry. Tommy, you'll have to trust me to get you there."

Pulling out a card, he summoned his train as Jason pulled Tommy back to his feet.

"What is this?" Jason muttered. "Lightspeed?"

"Shut up, Jase," Tommy hissed, grimacing in pain again.

"Let's go," Daggeron said, taking Chip from Xander and Vida.

Getting him on the train, he turned to help Tommy.

"I'm going with you," Jason said firmly, not letting Daggeron take Tommy from him.

"No you're not, Jason," Tommy retorted. "You'll just slow us down with that ankle. I'll be fine."

Jason glared at him, crossing his arms. But Tommy just returned the look, not backing down.

"You'd better be," Jason growled, reluctantly relenting. "Because I am not explaining to Hayley why I didn't bring you home with me."

He knew he didn't have time to argue right now. But he did help Tommy over to the train himself.

"If you don't come back," he grumbled to Tommy. "I will come find you and bring you back to life just so I can kill you."

"Get in line," Tommy muttered. "Behind Hayley, Kim, and the rest of the girls—not to mention the kids."

Jason snorted as Tommy paused on the steps of the train. Daggeron was waiting to help him to a seat.

"Those things are still out there, bro," Tommy said quietly, trying to take a deep breath and wincing again. "And they aren't going to stop attacking people."

"I know," Jason nodded grimly. "And you know I'm not just going to sit this one out."

"I know," Tommy sighed. "Just—be careful, Rex. I don't want to have to call Trini on this one…"

"Just worry about yourself, Falcon," Jason said. "And I'll see you when you get back."

Tommy turned and disappeared onto the train. A moment later, it took off. When Jason turned back to the rangers, they weren't paying attention to him. They were making plans for their next move. Shaking his head, Jason stalked away, once again ignoring the pain in his ankle. He was involved, now, and determined to make sure no one else was hurt.

"Jason, you should stay here," Vida said a few minutes later, turning to look at him. "Jason?"

She frowned, looking around. But Jason was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh no…" Madison sighed, looking at Vida with a worried look. "You don't think—?"

"Oh, he did," Vida answered, shaking her head. "You know big brother—he doesn't like to sit around and watch people get hurt. Never has."

"Great," Nick snapped. "And now we're going to have to go after him. Come on."

Waving the others after him, he started running back toward town.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey, Thank you everyone who has given reviews or fallowed us! We like to hear what you like and what we can change for next time. As always we have a ways to go before the end of the story a lot more is going to happen before we can finish up. :) So keep the comments coming, and if you have suggestions for future stories let us know. AN at the bottom for our anonymous reviews thanks everyone enjoy!

* * *

Daggeron's train came to a stop at the base of the mountain. He climbed out, Chip and Tommy following. They paused, for a moment, looking up at the climb.

"You think I can make it?" Chip asked, eyes wide as he looked up the mountain.

"Come on," Daggeron said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll take it step-by-step."

He turned, looking at Tommy.

"Tommy, are you still alright?" he said. "Are you up for this?"

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, concentrating on breathing. "I'll be fine. Not my first time climbing a mountain—though I will admit I didn't have something inside of me trying to eat my soul the last time…"

Nodding, Daggeron started off into the trees. Chip and Tommy followed.

* * *

"Going somewhere?" Gnatu laughed. "I don't think so. Spydex!"

Gnatu and Spydex had attacked another group of people on the street. She grabbed a hold of a woman, intending to steal her life-force. But before she could pull the life-force from the woman, Jason leapt in the way.

"Not this time!" he snarled.

Once again ignoring his ankle for the sake of the other people around him, Jason whipped around and kicked the Hidiacs holding the woman. He knocked them backward, freeing the woman. Shoving her out of the way and shouting for her to run, Jason kicked another Hidiac away from her as she stumbled away.

"You again!" Gnatu cried, glaring at Jason. "Get him!"

More Hidiacs swarmed Jason, overwhelming him. Pinning his arms, they dragged him back to Gnatu.

"What I take from you should be enough," she hissed, facing Jason.

He struggled to get away, but couldn't pry himself loose.

"You're not going to get away with this," he growled, panting.

"I already have," she cackled.

Reaching out, she grabbed hold of Jason. He tried fighting back again, but it was no use. Gnatu laughed, draining the life-force from Jason. As he slumped in the grasp of the Hidiacs, they let go and Jason collapsed onto the ground.

"Spydex, turn their life-force into something useful!" Gnatu ordered.

"Where could he have gone?" Madison cried, looking around.

The rangers were running through the streets, already morphed, searching for Jason as they tried to locate Gnatu and Spydex. But so far there had been no sign of anyone. Then shouts and screams caught their attention.

"This way!" Nick shouted.

Following the screaming, the rangers stumbled on another attack. Gnatu was standing with Spydex in the middle of the chaos, enjoying herself.

"Jason!" Madison suddenly screamed.

"No!" Vida shouted, seeing what Madison had seen.

Several Hidiacs had just dragged Jason in front of Gnatu. He was panting, struggling to get away from the creatures—but he didn't have the strength to break loose. Madison and Vida ran to save him, the boys following. But they couldn't get there fast enough. Jason snapped something at Gnatu and then she reached out, draining the life-force from him.

"No!" the girls screamed, pulling out their wands.

"Spydex, turn their life-force into something useful," Gnatu ordered.

Jason collapsed to the ground, not moving. Casting a spell in unison, Madison and Vida got Gnatu's attention.

"Pesky rangers!" Gnatu cried.

"Not so fast!" Nick shouted.

As Xander and Nick attacked Gnatu and Spydex, Madison and Vida ran to Jason.

"Jason!" Vida exclaimed, dropping down next to him. "Come on, big bro. Please wake up."

She shook his shoulder, desperately trying to get a reaction. But Jason didn't move.

"She's going to pay for this," Madison snapped, choking back a sob.

Leaping to their feet, they joined in the fight.

* * *

"Come on, Chip," Daggeron said, glancing down. "You can do it!"

Daggeron, Chip, and Tommy were currently making their way up a nearly vertical cliff face. There were a lot of great hand and foot holds, but Tommy and Chip were moving slowly as they struggled with the specters eating away at them.

"Keep going, kid," Tommy said, panting as he paused. "Gotta keep moving."

Chip nodded, moving to pull himself up to the next hold place. But rock gave out underneath him and he slipped. Daggeron jerked to catch him, but Tommy had already grabbed Chip's arm. Looking at Tommy in surprise because of how fast he had moved, Daggeron reached down to help pull Chip back up.

"Hold on!" Daggeron encouraged. "That's it."

With Chip holding tightly to the cliff side again, the three of them continued to work their way to the top. Finally reaching the top of the cliff, they all paused to breath for a moment. Daggeron was the first on his feet, encouraging Chip and Tommy to follow. They headed into some trees, fighting through brush and over tree roots and other obstacles.

"I'm sorry, Daggeron," Chip gasped, collapsing as he tripped over a root. "I don't think I can make it."

Daggeron stopped, but Tommy pushed on a little ways to give them some privacy. Sitting down next to Chip, Daggeron took a deep breath.

"When I was training to be a knight," he said slowly. "I can't tell you the number of times I wanted to quit. But my teacher never let me."

He smiled at Chip.

"Now, I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I let my student give up before he even started training, would I?" Daggeron asked.

Chip looked up at him in surprise.

"You mean… you're gonna train me to be a knight?" Chip exclaimed. "A real knight?"

"Not if we don't make it up this mountain," he answered, holding out a hand to help Chip up. "Now, let's go."

They caught up to Tommy a short distance ahead. He was leaning against a tree, his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath. One arm was wrapped around his rib cage. As they approached, he opened his eyes.

"Are you alright, Tommy?" Daggeron asked.

"Yeah," Tommy grimaced, straightening up. "Let's just keep going…"

Nodding, Daggeron took the lead again as Tommy and Chip followed.

Back in Briarwood, the rangers were struggling. Down a ranger, they were having trouble dealing with Gnatu and Spydex. All of them were really taking a beating, but they kept fighting.

Finally reaching the top of the mountain, Chip and Tommy staggered after Daggeron.

"Come on," Daggeron said, looking around for any sign of the staff.

"I can't do it!" Chip cried, collapsing.

Tommy caught him before he hit the ground, lowering him carefully. Nodding in thanks, Daggeron kept looking.

"There it is," he said in relief. "The Staff of Topaz."

But as he reached for it, there was a blast followed by an explosion. Tommy used his own body to shield Chip. Taking most of the blast himself, Tommy was thrown a few yards back and hit the ground. He slumped, unconscious. Chip stayed where he was, too weakened by the specter to aid Daggeron.

"Not so fast, knight," Koragg growled, taking the Staff of Topaz.

Daggeron stood firm where he was.

"They don't have much time," Daggeron said shortly. "Give me the staff."

Koragg scoffed.

"You want it?" he said. "You'll have to take it from me."

"Not a problem," Daggeron snapped back.

Morphing, Daggeron charged into the fight.

"What?" Koragg exclaimed after Daggeron landed a hard strike. "Try this, knight! Shield of darkness!"

Daggeron stumbled and Koragg laughed.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Koragg growled.

Catching himself, Daggeron attacked again. Then Koragg summoned his megazord form. Daggeron readied himself to do the same.

"You want to play?" he snapped. "Solaris streak megazord! Let's go! Time to turn up the heat!"

He attacked, but Koragg blocked.

"My turn!" Koragg said.

The fight continued, neither one with the advantage to begin with.

"Ok," Daggeron said, shaking his head. "I see how it is now. Furnace blast!"

To his surprise, Koragg blocked the attack.

"I've played with you long enough!" Koragg snarled. "Behold the power of the master!"

Koragg unleashed a dark magic attack on Daggeron. It struck dead on, wrapping Daggeron in black vines.

"Pathetic," Koragg said, beginning to turn away.

Daggeron struggled to break free.

* * *

"Weaklings," Gnatu scoffed, looking at the rangers.

All four of them were panting and hard pressed to stay on their feet. The fight was not going well.

"It's not over!" Nick cried, trying to get up.

But Gnatu had turned her attention away from them and Nick collapsed again in pain.

"Ready for some fireworks, Spydex?" she laughed, dropping the life-force orb into her machine.

"Come on, rangers," Nick said, forcing himself to his feet. "We got to hang in there! This one's for Chip!"

All in agreement, the rangers struggled back to their feet and charged back into the fight.

* * *

As Koragg turned away, Daggeron summoned all of his strength to break through the bindings.

"Impossible!" Koragg cried in astonishment.

But Daggeron didn't give him a chance to react.

"There's more!" he shouted. "Furnace blast! Full power!"

The blow hit Koragg at full strength, causing him to stumble and drop the staff.

"Gotcha!" Daggeron said, catching it. "The Staff of Topaz."

Koragg regarded him approvingly.

"You might be a worthy opponent after all!" he said before disappearing from view.

"Chip!" Daggeron exclaimed, spinning and running back to Chip and Tommy. "Hold on, young friend. Don't give up! Tommy, keep fighting!"

He aimed the Staff of Topaz at Chip and Tommy. Both were convulsing in pain as the specters reached the peak of their power, the vortices swirling around them. Channeling the magic of the staff, Daggeron drove the specters from them. Black mist poured from each of their mouths, dissipating into the air. Both of them stayed where they were after it was gone, panting. Daggeron ran to Chip to check on him as Tommy pushed himself upright. .

"If training to be a knight is like this," Chip said as Daggeron helped him sit up. "It's gonna be brutal. When do we start?"

Daggeron smiled, pulling Chip to his feet.

"As soon as we get Tommy to safety," he said. "And you need to help the others, of course."

"Right," Chip said. "Tommy, are you—"

He froze in surprise. Tommy was gone. Both Daggeron and Chip spun, looking around, but the other man was nowhere to be seen.

"Let's go," Daggeron said. "He can't have gotten far."

* * *

Tommy ran down the street towards the sound of the battle. He knew Jason wouldn't be far from the fight. He just hoped he was alright. As he rounded a corner, he could hear the rangers still fighting nearby.

"Jason!" he exclaimed, seeing Jason's prone form on the ground.

He ran toward him, avoiding the fighting as best he could. Skidding to a stop, he dropped down on the ground next to him.

"Please just be unconscious," he muttered, shaking him. "Come on, Rex. You've gotta wake up."

Jason didn't move, staring blankly straight ahead. Tommy took a deep breath, looking around. They were extremely close to the fight.

"If we get stepped on when they switch to zords, I'm blaming you," Tommy muttered.

Hooking his arms under Jason's shoulders, he started trying to pull him further from the fight. With his ribs, however, it was a lot harder than it would have been normally.

"Great," Tommy grumbled, panting. "I guess this is going to have to do."

He'd managed to get Jason over to a wall, sheltering against it as he listened to the sounds of explosions from the nearby fight.

* * *

"I'm through with you," Gnatu snapped at the rangers. "Let's get the party started!"

She lit the fuse for the cannon that would shoot the life-force into the sky.

"No!" Nick cried, racing to get to the fuse.

But the rangers couldn't reach it. Then, just before it went off, something struck the fuse and stopped the spark. Chip dropped into the fight, holding his bow.

"Chip, you're ok!" Nick exclaimed.

Chip nodded, joining them.

"Never been better," he said. "Now, let's show them how it's done."

"Right!" they all agreed.

Daggeron ran to the cannon while it was unguarded.

"I'll take care of this," Daggeron said, holding up the life-force orb. "You get in there and fight."

The rangers nodded, pulling out their wands.

"All right!" Nick shouted. "Magi staff, speed spell!"

Casting the spell together, the rangers attacked Spydex.

"See ya!" Chip yelled, striking the final blow.

Spydex fell and the orb shattered, releasing the souls.

"Ah," Daggeron exclaimed. "Now all the souls will return where they belong."

"Oh, yeah," Chip laughed as they watched the souls fly into the air.

* * *

Tommy looked up to see white flashes soaring through the air—the released souls going back to the people. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tommy watched as one of the flashes streaked back to Jason.

"Jase, are you alright?" Tommy asked, shaking his shoulder. "Jason, wake up!"

Jason jerked. Reacting on instinct, he whipped around and decked Tommy in the face.

"Agh!" Tommy shouted, falling backward.

Jason looked around wildly, panting. Then he saw Tommy lying on the ground.

"Tommy?" he said, scrambling over to him. "Tommy, are you alright?"

Tommy groaned, glaring at Jason with a hand over his face.

"I was until you hit me!" he snapped, holding a hand to his face.

"What—what happened?" Jason asked.

Still glaring at Jason, Tommy pushed himself back into a sitting position.

"Some thanks I get," Tommy muttered. "I try and get you somewhere safe and you hit me for it."

"I'm sorry," Jason said. "I reacted. And, since the last thing I remember is being in the middle of the fight, that was my reaction."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tommy grumbled, wincing again as he gingerly touched his eye. "I think you just gave me a black eye…"

* * *

"Don't forget about me!" Gnatu cried. "Little rangers!"

She grew to giant size, towering over them.

"Get back!" Nick exclaimed as she tried to step on them.

Taking their own megazord form, the rangers fought back.

"You messed with the wrong ranger, lady!" Chip shouted.

She fell back under their attack, but they didn't let up.

* * *

Jason saw Gnatu grow and the megazord appeared.

"Aww, crap," he muttered. "That's not good…"

"What?" Tommy said.

His vision was currently obstructed by his hand, which he was holding over the eye Jason had hit. Groaning, Jason reached down and hauled Tommy to his feet.

"Zords," he said. "Which means we should move."

He started pulling Tommy after him, but didn't realize how close they were to a light pole. Tommy hit it face first, stumbling backward in shock and pain.

"Jason!" he exclaimed. "Agh…I—I'm bleeding! Great!"

"Sorry!" Jason said. "But we still need to move—unless you want to get stepped on."

Tommy glared at him, holding a hand over his nose.

"Dere not dat close…" he muttered, trying to pull his hand away.

But his nose was bleeding quite profusely. Groaning, he put his hand back.

"I'b gonna kill you," Tommy growled. "And adain—dere way ober der!"

"I'm sorry," Jason sighed, tugging on Tommy's arm. "But we've both seen those things fall—now come on."

Still holding his face, Tommy let Jason pull him away.

* * *

"Time to bug out," Gnatu said, taking flight and trying to escape.

"Titan megazord, take flight!" the rangers called. "Spirits of the ancient titans!"

They struck at Gnatu, knocking her out of the sky and destroying her.

"Way to go, guys!" Chip exclaimed.

Dropping down out of the zords, the rangers gathered in excitement. Vida hugged Chip.

"You have no idea how glad we are to see you," she said.

"Perfect timing," Xander agreed.

"Look!" Madison exclaimed, looking around. "People are back to normal!"

"Yeah!" the others exclaimed in excitement.

"Come on, guys," Daggeron said, coming up behind them. "Time to get out of the way."

They followed him off the street, getting out of sight of the general population.

"Power down," Nick said once they were clear.

The others followed his lead.

"How are you feeling, Chip?" Xander asked.

"Never been better," he grinned.

"Where's Tommy?" Vida asked, looking at Daggeron and Chip expectantly. "Did you leave him at Rootcore?"

They looked at each other, not sure how to answer the question.

"Well, that was the plan," Daggeron said slowly.

"He did make it, right?" Madison asked. "Tommy's ok?"

"He's fine," Chip said quickly. "We think…"

The girls exchanged looks.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Vida exclaimed. "You did get there in time, didn't you?"

"And you got that—thing—out of him?" Madison added.

"We got there in time," Daggeron assured her. "And even after needing to fight Koragg to retrieve the staff, I was still able to expel the specters. However, Tommy was thrown some distance in the initial blast…So after the specters were gone, Chip was closer. I ran to him first to make sure he was alright and when we turned to Tommy, he wasn't there any longer…"

Both girls gasped.

"What if Koragg took him?" Madison cried, her eyes wide. "What if they found out he knows us? They could use him against us! What if they hurt him?"

Daggeron shook his head.

"I saw Koragg leave without him," he said quickly, trying to reassure her. "He couldn't have taken Tommy."

"He could have come back," Vida snapped. "It wouldn't have been hard to take Tommy when he's injured—what defense does he have against magic?"

"We'll find him," Daggeron said firmly.

Madison gasped again, whirling to look at her sister.

"What are we going to tell Jason?" she exclaimed.

Vida groaned, shaking her head.

"Big brother is going to flip," she said. "It's bad enough that Tommy has the bad habit of disappearing on his own, now we've lost him…"

"Jason!" Madison said, realizing they hadn't seen him yet. "We need to make sure he's alright."

Vida and Madison both spun, darting back out into the street and racing toward where they'd left Jason a short time before. The other rangers followed close behind them. But when they reached the spot where Jason had fallen, there was no one there.

"Where is he?" Vida exclaimed, spinning in place as she looked for any sign of Jason.

"You don't think someone took him, too, do you?" Madison stammered, fighting tears. "We shouldn't have let him come visit…"

"It's gonna be alright, Maddy," Xander said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "We'll find them."

"Find who?" a voice said behind them.

"Jason!" Madison and Vida cried, spinning around.

He was standing a few yards away, watching them. The girls both bolted toward him, throwing their arms around their brother in a tight hug. Jason grunted when they hit him, stumbling a little.

"You're alright," Madison mumbled into his shirt. "We thought—"

She cut off, taking a shaky breath.

"Hey, I'm fine," he said. "Well, mostly. Ankle is a little worse for wear right now…"

"Then you should stop playing hero," Vida grumbled, glaring up at him. "Didn't you do that enough in high school?"

Jason froze, looking down at her in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" he asked slowly.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she took a step back. Madison had let go, too, though she didn't move far. Xander, Nick, Chip, and Daggeron were all standing a short distance away.

"I don't know," Vida said, raising an eyebrow. "The beach clean-up, cleaning up graffiti, the peace conference—not to mention all the other countless volunteer activities you participated in. You could probably add in teaching karate classes at the youth center."

Jason snorted.

"That was mostly Tommy," he said. "The kids liked him better."

Vida and Madison looked at each other.

"Umm… Jason?" Madison said. "We may have a problem…"

He frowned.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now, don't panic, but Tommy is missing…" Vida admitted. "Daggeron says they got him up the mountain and removed the specter, but he disappeared."

"And there's a slight chance he may have been kidnapped by the bad guys," Xander inserted, earning himself a glare from the girls.

"Great news, Jase," Tommy interrupted, surprising the rangers. "I think it stopped bleeding."

He came striding over to stand next to Jason, still gingerly checking his nose. It had stopped bleeding, though he hadn't had a chance to clean himself up yet.

"I found him," Jason grinned, glancing between Tommy and his sisters.

"Tommy!" the girls exclaimed, running to hug him.

He winced in pain, but hugged them back.

"You're here!" Madison said.

"And you're alright!" Vida added.

"And you're bleeding," Madison said, frowning.

All of the rangers were staring at Tommy, trying to figure out how he'd gotten there.

"Was," Tommy corrected. "And now I need to wash my hands."

Jason snorted.

"You need to wash your face, bro," he said, shaking his head.

Tommy glared at him.

"I wouldn't have to if you hadn't hit me," he retorted.

"Jason!" Vida said. "You did that?"

"Technically that was the pole," Jason protested.

Chip, Xander, and Nick all snickered, silencing themselves at a glare from Jason.

"Oh, right," Tommy said sarcastically. "You just gave me the black eye—I ran into the pole without any assistance from you."

"Are you ever going to let this go?" Jason grumbled.

"Nope," Tommy answered. "You punched me for no reason and ran me into a pole—pretty sure my nose is broken. Not letting it go."

"Are you fourteen again?" Jason muttered.

"No," Tommy retorted. "If I was fourteen, I'd be a lot more of a pushover."

"Fair point," Jason conceded.

"Tommy," Daggeron interrupted. "How did you get back to Briarwood so quickly? You weren't on the train with us—we lost you on the mountaintop."

Tommy shrugged, looking at his hand again.

"I need to find a bathroom," he muttered. "Where's the closest bathroom?"

"Just down the street," Xander answered.

"Great," Tommy nodded. "Thanks, Xavier."

Xander frowned, looking at Tommy in surprise.

"Wait a minute," Chip said, shaking his head. "That doesn't answer the question. There's no possible way you could have beaten us back, but when we left you were nowhere in sight."

"Hey, you guys were the ones who left me to find my own way back," Tommy said, turning and heading to find the bathroom. "And I found my way back."

He kept walking down the street as Jason shook his head, the rangers staring after him in surprise. Chip and Daggeron exchanged confused glances.

"Hold on just a minute," Nick snapped. "You two aren't going anywhere yet. We need to talk."

Tommy just kept going, but Jason paused to face Nick.

"About what?" Jason asked, crossing his arms.

"What do you think?" Nick said, glaring at Jason.

"Oh, great choice of location," Jason smirked, looking around.

There were still people everywhere. Emergency responders were checking on the people whose life-forces had been stolen.

"Not here," Nick said shortly.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere without Tommy," Jason said. "So you're going to have to practice your patience."

"I'm done with patience," Nick snarled. "Because he obviously knows, too. Why did you tell him?"

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't tell Tommy anything," he said. "Actually, it was Tommy who told me."

"What?" Nick exclaimed.

"You heard me," Jason said. "Tommy came out for a visit and found out—and then told me so I could come out and check on all of you."

"Tommy came to visit?" Madison said in surprise. "Why didn't we see him, then?"

"I guess he was a little put off by the surprise of you five in spandex," Jason said drily. "Not exactly what he was expecting."

"Oh," she said, dropping her head.

"Though I guess you almost ran him over the one day," Jason said, looking at Madison.

She frowned, looking confused.

"When?" she asked.

"Not sure," he shrugged. "But I guess you ran out of the shop all upset and didn't see him when you ran past. Apparently you were upset about something the rookie said."

He jerked his head toward Nick. Xander and Chip looked at Nick with wide eyes, shaking their heads and mouthing 'run away' to him. Nick just stayed where he was.

"And that reminds me," Jason said, crossing his arms again. "Madison!"

She jumped in surprise.

"Yes?" Madison said hesitantly.

"Did you get turned to stone?" Jason asked.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked around at the other rangers.

"Umm…Yes…" she said slowly, biting her lip as she looked at her brother.

"Vida, you should have called me," Jason said, turning to glare at the other twin. "Even if you didn't want to tell me about the other part. I'm used to weird things happening, remember? Growing up in Angel Grove will do that to you."

"Big brother…" Vida sighed.

"Nope," Jason said, shaking his head. "Not letting this go."

"We took care of it," Vida protested.

"Sis is right," Madison said. "They saved me. I'm fine now—no side effects or anything."

"And I still should have gotten a phone call," Jason retorted. "Now why did you go running out of the shop like that? What did the rookie say that upset you so much?"

Madison hesitated, not really wanting to upset Jason.

"It really wasn't anything bad," she said slowly.

"Maddy, what happened?" Jason asked. "You wouldn't have gone running off without a good reason—and you definitely would have been paying better attention to your surroundings."

"She was paying attention," Chip inserted. "She saved a guy from being turned to stone—by getting herself turned instead…"

He took a step back at Jason's glare. But before Jason could say anything else, Tommy came back. He'd washed the blood off of his face and hands and cleaned himself up as best he could. Seeing Jason glaring at Madison, Tommy sighed.

"You told him, didn't you?" he asked, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "And after all the work I did to make him think it was no big deal. All you had to do was deny it—haven't you learned anything from me?"

Jason turned his glare on Tommy.

"You shouldn't be teaching them to lie to me," he growled. "I'm their big brother."

"And the perfect one to practice on," Tommy grinned. "Now, Maddy—and you, V—you've got to remember to just deny everything. I'll cover for you."

They laughed as Jason continued to glare at Tommy. Except Nick, who rolled his eyes.

"Can we focus?" he snapped. "We have more important things to worry about."

Tommy looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually this conversation reminds me," he said. "You and I need to have a talk later."

Chip and Xander snickered while Madison and Vida exchanged concerned glances.

"Fine. Whatever," Nick said shortly, looking at them expectantly. "Let's just go."

Exchanging looks, Tommy and Jason shrugged. With Nick leading the way, the group started heading down the street. But they hadn't made it far when a shout caught their attention.

"Wait!" a young girl called. "Please wait!"

They all paused, turning to see the young girl Tommy and Jason had saved earlier that day. She was hurrying toward them, pulling her father behind her. Tommy and Jason both stayed where they were to wait for her.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, hugging Tommy. "You promised the power rangers would save my dad and they did."

She beamed up at them, giving Jason a hug, too.

"Thank you both," the father said gratefully. "Thank you for saving my daughter."

"We're just glad we could get to her in time," Jason said, shaking the man's hand.

After a few minutes, the man and his daughter left. She waved at them, smiling as she skipped down the street beside her father. Jason and Tommy waved and then turned back to the rangers. Nick was clearly impatient to get moving.

"Alright, rookie," Jason sighed. "Lead the way."

Glaring at Jason, Nick turned and strode down the street.

"Don't mind him," Vida said as they all followed. "He's just trying to protect us."

Jason snorted, shaking his head. Leaving town, the entire group headed into the forest. Tommy and Jason, moving more slowly, were falling a little behind. But when Madison and Vida started to turn back to help, they waved them on.

"It's nice sometimes, isn't it?" Tommy said quietly, glancing over at Jason.

"What?" Jason asked, frowning.

"Not having the helmets on," Tommy answered. "Having people thank us face to face."

"Yeah," Jason nodded. "It is. How are you doing?"

Tommy shrugged. He had an arm wrapped around his ribs again.

"I'm fine," he said. "You're the one with the screwed up ankle."

"Yeah, and I'm feeling it," Jason muttered.

Tommy chuckled, wincing. Stopping next to a tree, he leaned against it.

"Hey, Falcon," Jason frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You gonna make it?"

"Just give me a minute," Tommy grimaced.

"Need some help?" Jason asked.

Up ahead, the rangers had paused to wait.

"I'm fine," Tommy said, shaking his head.

"Bro, you'd say that on your death bed," Jason retorted.

"I'm fine," Tommy insisted.

"Fine," Jason said. "Then let's go."

He turned and started limping away. Tommy sighed, straightening up. Grimacing, he leaned back against the tree.

"Alright," he muttered. "Fine."

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Need a hand?" Xander called back.

"Tommy does," Jason answered.

"Can you help him, Xander?" Daggeron asked.

Xander nodded and started to walk back to Tommy. But Tommy frowned and forced himself upright again.

"Never mind," he said shortly. "I'll walk on my own."

Stopping in surprise, Xander looked back at the other rangers. Vida shrugged. Hurrying past Xander, Vida walked over to Tommy.

"You can sit down when we get to Rootcore," she said. "And maybe we can find a faster way back to town."

"Thanks, V," Tommy said.

With an arm around Vida's shoulders, Tommy leaned on her as they started moving again. Jason was limping determinedly along, waving off offers of help. Making a little better time, they finally reached Rootcore.

"Is that a dragon?" Tommy said in surprise, looking at the entrance. "It's a green dragon!"

He hadn't noticed it before, in too much pain from the specter to pay attention to his surroundings. Jason rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"Yeah, it's a dragon," Jason sighed.

"This is great!" Tommy exclaimed, looking around in excitement. "It moves!"

The rangers laughed as they walked in. Tommy let go of Vida, looking around to try and figure out how it worked.

"Where are the mechanics?" he muttered, pausing to look around.

Jason grabbed his arm, tugging him forward. Tommy stumbled after him.

"I'm coming," he grumbled.

Stepping into the main room of Rootcore, Tommy and Jason both froze.

"That's a cauldron," Tommy sputtered. "Why is there a cauldron? And spell books?"

The rangers looked at them, confused by their reactions.

"I don't know," Jason said grimly. "But we're leaving."

He spun, heading back toward the exit, still holding Tommy's arm. But Nick moved to block them.

"You aren't going anywhere," he snapped. "Not until we talk."

"Oh, we can talk," Jason growled. "But not here."

"What's wrong with here?" Chip asked.

"It's the safest place to talk," Xander added.

Jason shook his head. Next to him, Tommy was muttering under his breath as he looked around nervously.

"Jason, what's wrong?" Madison asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Magic?" he snapped. "You're using magic? Tommy, did you know about this?"

"No," Tommy said shortly. "Do you really think I'd have come if I knew? Or that Hayley would have let me? And I wouldn't have argued about you making Maddy and V leave, either."

"What's wrong with magic?" Vida asked as Jason nodded curtly at Tommy's answer.

"It's magic," Jason snapped.

"What is happening?" Udonna interrupted, walking into the room. "I can see we have guests."

Clare trailed in behind her, looking at Tommy and Jason with a curious expression.

"They know about us," Nick said, crossing his arms.

"Didn't know about the magic," Tommy muttered.

He was fidgeting, shifting in place as his eyes darted around the room. Jason hovered protectively next to him. Udonna frowned, walking down to the others.

"Is everything alright?" she asked in concern.

"And now there's a witch," Tommy muttered. "And I have nothing with me. Great…"

"She's a sorceress," Chip corrected.

"Same thing," Jason growled.

"Actually—" Madison started to say.

Jason silenced her with a look.

"What is your problem?" Nick asked, glowering at him.

"Magic is dangerous," Jason snapped. "And Tommy's been through enough today. First that specter-thing, and then me accidently hitting him after I got my life-force back—not to mention his broken nose. We are not dealing with magic today."

He glanced at Tommy, who was now looking down at the floor. His eyes were closed tight and his fists clenched.

"Relax, bro," Jason muttered. "Breathe—you're going to give yourself a panic attack. Nothing is going to happen."

Tommy didn't answer, taking a shaky breath.

"You need to let us go," Jason said, a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "He's stressing himself out and he's injured enough as is—he'll never be able to relax here."

"Oh!" Clare exclaimed suddenly. "Maybe I can help—I've been practicing!"

She took a deep breath, concentrating.

"What?" Jason frowned, turning to look at her. "Wait! Don't—"

He was too late. Clare cast the spell, hitting Tommy with it. He froze for a moment and then crumbled. Jason barely caught him before he hit the ground.

"Tommy!" Jason exclaimed. "Tommy, are you alright?"

But Tommy, out cold, didn't answer. Letting him gently down to the ground, Jason straightened up and turned on Clare—though he stayed standing over his now unconscious best friend.

"What did you do to him?" he shouted.

Clare squeaked in fright, ducking behind Udonna. The rangers all tensed, sensing just how close Jason was to snapping.

"Jason," Madison said hesitantly, holding out a hand toward him. "Clare didn't hurt him—she'd never do that."

"On purpose," Xander muttered.

Chip elbowed him and Xander grunted.

"Madison is right," Udonna said reassuringly. "All she did was cast a simple healing spell combined with a relaxation spell—"

"Oh, he's relaxed," Jason snarled.

"Clare was simply—over exuberant—in her casting," Udonna explained. "Tommy is merely sleeping. He will wake up before long."

"No," Jason said. "We aren't waiting. Fix this now!"

"To attempt to reverse the spell would cause more harm than good," Udonna said, shaking her head. "It is best if we allow him to wake up naturally."

"Udonna is right, big brother," Vida quickly added before Jason could shout again. "She knows what she's talking about."

"I don't care," Jason said shortly. "No one gave anyone permission to use magic of any kind on either of us."

"He'll be fine," Nick snapped. "Right now we need to know what you're going to do."

"About what?" Jason glowered.

"About us," Nick said. "About what you know."

Jason scoffed.

"Think it through, rookie," he said. "If I was going to tell someone I would have done so already. Your secret is safe with us."

Nick regarded him suspiciously.

"Jason, this is really important," Madison said softly.

"I know," he sighed. "Believe me—I know. And I'm not going to spill your secret. You have my word."

"And you'll talk to Tommy, right?" Vida asked.

"Soon as he wakes up," Jason scowled.

He shot another glare at Clare, who was still hiding behind Udonna.

"Perhaps it would be best if we allowed Tommy to rest somewhere more comfortable," Daggeron inserted. "We have room here—"

"No," Jason snapped. "We're going back to the hotel. Now. Even if I have to carry him all the way back."

"So be it," Udonna sighed. "Rangers, please escort them back to their lodgings. May I suggest not walking?"

The rangers nodded.

"We can take the flyers to the edge of town," Nick said. "But we'll have to walk from there."

"No we won't," Vida said, shaking her head. "There's a parking garage right near their hotel. If we fly in high and fast, we can land inside and walk them out."

"Sis is right," Madison said. "Jason shouldn't be walking too far anyways, especially supporting Tommy. He'll only hurt his ankle more."

"Fine," Nick said. "Then let's go."

Chip started to reach down to help Jason with Tommy, but backed off when Jason glared at him. Jason carefully pulled Tommy up from the floor, holding him upright.

"Come on, big brother," Vida saighed. "Let me help."

Jason shot her a look, but didn't protest when she slung Tommy's other arm over her own shoulders and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Bro, you're heavy," Jason muttered as they headed outside.

Back outside, Jason paused to wait for the rest of the rangers to come out, lying Tommy back down on the ground again. When they emerged, they were each holding a broomstick. Madison had two—one of them belonging to Vida. Jason stared at the brooms with a shocked expression.

"Oh no," he said adamantly, shaking his head. "No. That is not happening. I'll just carry him back."

Turning, he started to pick Tommy back up to walk back to town. Sighing, Vida grabbed him. Madison hurried to help. Between the two of them, they tugged Jason to a stop.

"Jason, you can't carry him all the way back to town by yourself," Vida said.

Jason grumbled, eying the brooms again.

"Just wait a moment," Madison said.

Each of them changed their brooms into the ground cycles.

"There," Vida said. "Is that better? We won't fly."

"Do I get to drive?" Jason asked, still looking at the cycles warily.

"Not a chance," Xander snorted, shaking his head.

"Sorry, big brother," Vida said. "These are ours—you'll have to wait until you get home and drive your own."

Jason shook his head again.

"I am not getting on one of those things," he said. "Those are brooms—not motorcycles."

"Jason, they're perfectly safe," Madison sighed. "We use them all the time."

"Not happening," Jason said. "We'll just have to walk."

The girls rolled their eyes. As they continued to argue with Jason about getting on one of the mystic cycles, Nick and Xander exchanged looks.

"Come on," Nick said quietly. "Let's get Tommy on my bike—maybe then Jason will just shut up and get on."

Xander glanced over at Jason, but didn't argue. While he was focused on his argument with his sisters, the two boys picked Tommy up between them. Nick had moved his bike a little closer so they didn't have to carry him as far. They paused for a moment, determining the best way to get Tommy to stay on the bike.

"Guess we'll just have to lay him across the back," Nick said, shaking his head. "He can't hold on right now."

"Just make sure he won't fall off," Xander said. "Jason would kill us."

Shifting Tommy carefully, they laid him face down across the back of the bike, resting on his stomach. But as they let his full weight rest on the bike, he jerked. Lashing out, he kicked Nick in the stomach. He fell backward with a grunt of pain, holding his stomach. Xander, who had immediately reached down to try and keep Tommy from knocking himself off of the bike, had taken a punch to the jaw and was sitting on the ground rubbing it gingerly.

"Aww… man," he muttered. "That hurt…"

Jason, hearing the commotion, spun around to see what was happening.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed, striding over and carefully pulling Tommy off of the bike. "He's got bruised ribs, remember?"

He glared down at Nick and Xander, not showing any sympathy.

"Oh, right," Xander muttered, wincing when he moved his jaw.

Nick was still trying to catch his breath.

"Then how—" Nick panted, grimacing as he got to his feet. "Do you propose…to get him…on a bike?"

"Well he can't ride like that," Jason snapped. "And he's too big to ride in front of any of you."

"Then what do you suggest?" Nick snapped back.

"I'll just carry him," Jason growled. "No one should be riding those things anyways. They're brooms!"

Vida rolled her eyes, ready to start arguing with him again.

"Wait a second," Madison interrupted. "I've got an idea. Chip—get on your cycle."

Chip looked at her in confusion, but climbed on without protesting.

"Sit Tommy on the bike behind him," Madison directed Jason. "Just try, please. You'll see in a minute."

Jason had been about to protest, but reluctantly he did as Madison asked. He supported Tommy, keeping him upright on the bike. As he watched, Madison unhooked Tommy's belt. Adjusting it, she hooked his belt to the back of Chip's jeans.

"There," she said. "Now lean Tommy against Chip's back."

Slightly more approving of this idea, Jason leaned Tommy against Chip and let go.

"You'll have to drive extremely carefully," Madison warned Chip. "He still isn't holding on. So be ready to reach around and grab him if he starts to slip."

Chip nodded.

"I've got this," he grinned.

"Ok, so the belt thing is a great idea, Maddy," Jason admitted. "But why is he riding with Chip?"

"Because," Madison said. "Tommy would never have gotten on with Xander and you have a problem with Nick—so those two are out. And V and I aren't heavy enough to hold Tommy on our bikes. So it has to be Chip."

"Relax, big bro," Vida said. "Chip drives his cycle all the time. He's a great driver—it'll be fine."

Jason frowned.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?" he asked suspiciously.

Madison and Vida exchanged quick glances.

"No," they said.

Jason sighed.

"Girls, I helped teach Chip to drive, remember?" he said. "And Tommy and I wouldn't let him go test for his license until he was almost eighteen. I know how he drives."

"We were hoping you wouldn't think about that…" Vida muttered.

"I'll be careful, Jason," Chip said. "I promise."

"You'd better be," Jason grumbled. "Now—who am I riding with?"

After a little more shuffling, they were finally ready to go. Jason was riding with Vida, who was going to stay next to Chip's bike as they went. Madison had taken up position on Chip's other side while Nick took the lead and Xander brought up the rear. They made it out of the forest quickly, speeding around trees and out to the road. Once in town, they stuck to side streets and the wider allies, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves. Chip was driving as cautiously as he could, being vigilant to make sure Tommy stayed upright against his back.

"The parking garage is down that street," Vida called as they got closer.

Pulling into the garage, the rangers parked and started climbing off the cycles. Jason went straight over to help get Tommy off of Chip's cycle.

"See, told you I could get him here alright," Chip grinned.

Jason raised an eyebrow, pulling Tommy upright. Pulling Tommy's arm over his shoulders, Jason turned to head over to the hotel. Vida took Tommy's other side again. They headed to the back entrance of the hotel, not wanting to explain to the hotel clerk at the front desk what was wrong with Tommy. They paused just long enough for Jason to fish out his key so they could get in. With the rest of the rangers trailing behind them, Jason and Vida headed toward the closest elevator with Tommy.

"You would be on an upper floor, big bro," Vida muttered as they walked down the hall.

"Well, having to carry Tommy to the room wasn't exactly part of my plan," Jason said shortly. "Would one of you please run ahead and make sure the elevator is down and that we'll have it to ourselves?"

"I will," Madison said, darting ahead.

When they reached the elevator, she was holding it open. They all piled inside and closed the doors quickly. Getting out on Jason and Tommy's floor, they hurried down the hall to their room. Jason opened the door and everyone piled inside.

"Lay him on the bed," Jason said to Vida, nodding toward Tommy's bed.

They let Tommy down on the bed. He stayed right where they put him, stretched out across the blankets. Jason sighed, relieved to have Tommy back at the hotel.

"So, now what?" Chip asked, looking around.

"Now all of you are leaving," Jason said, turning around.

"Why?" Madison asked. "We want to make sure Tommy is ok, too."

"Because it's late," Jason said. "And, from the looks of things, Tommy isn't waking up again tonight."

The girls exchanged looks.

"Go on," Jason said. "I'll call you if I need you, ok?"

"Come on, guys," Nick said, jerking his head toward the door. "We've got things to do back at Rootcore anyways."

Xander and Chip immediately followed him out the door. Madison and Vida hesitated.

"Are you sure you don't want one of us to stay with you?" Vida asked.

"I'm sure," Jason said. "Tommy isn't moving and I'm going to get ready for bed. It's been a long day…"

"Alright," Madison sighed. "But you'll call if anything happens?"

"I promise," Jason said.

He gave them both a hug and then gently pushed them toward the door.

"Good night," they said. "Love you."

"Love you both, too," Jason said, smiling faintly at them. "Don't stay up too late."

They exchanged guilty looks, telling Jason they intended to be up quite late.

"We'll work on that," Vida grinned. "See you tomorrow, big bro."

Spinning, they darted out the door after their friends. Jason shut and locked the door behind them. Sighing, he turned around. Leaning against the wall, he reached down to pull his shoes off. His ankle was throbbing more than ever.

"I really should get some ice," he muttered.

But walking down the hall to the ice machine just didn't sound like a good idea. So, leaving his shoes by the door, Jason limped back over to the beds. He stopped next to Tommy's first. Jason carefully shifted Tommy into a more comfortable position, knowing Tommy's ribs were going to kill when he finally woke up. He took off Tommy's glasses, setting them on the bedside table so they wouldn't get lost or broken. Tugging off Tommy's shoes, Jason tossed them over toward the door and grabbed a blanket. He tossed it over the sleeping ranger, making sure he was covered up. Satisfied that Tommy was as comfortable as he was going to be, Jason turned and limped over to his own bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed, glad to finally be off his ankle. Grimacing, he swung his legs up and leaned back against the headboard. Grabbing one of the pillows, he propped up his ankle.

"Guess I'd better call Trini…" he sighed, leaning his head back.

Shifting, Jason pulled out his phone and dialed his wife. She picked up after a couple of rings.

"_Hi, sweetheart," _Trini answered. _"How's the trip going? Were the girls excited to see Tommy?"_

"Yeah," he said. "About tackled him when he walked in the door."

Trini laughed.

"_Well, they haven't seen him in a while," _she said. _"Are you two staying out of trouble?"_

Jason paused.

"Define trouble," he said slowly.

"_Jason, what did you do?" _Trini snapped.

He sighed, running a hand over his head.

"We weren't trying to do anything," he grumbled. "Just in the wrong place at the wrong time…"

"_What happened?" _Trini demanded.

Taking a deep breath, Jason started going over the events of the day. Trini stayed quiet for the most part, except for a few comments and exclamations here and there. She gasped when Jason told her about having his life force drained.

"I'm fine now," he reassured her. "I promise. The kids took care of everything."

But when he told her about the rangers and their magic, Trini couldn't keep calm any longer.

"_What?" _she exclaimed. _"Magic? Are you serious?"_

"Completely," Jason said grimly. "And, to make things even worse, some witch-child cast a spell on Tommy."

"_They did what?" _Trini cried.

"The spell knocked him out cold," Jason said, glancing over at Tommy. "And their head witch refused to reverse the spell—claimed she'd only hurt him if she tried."

He snorted in disbelief, shaking his head.

"But I just wanted to get him out of there," he said. "So I didn't stay around to argue. Didn't have a whole lot of defense without a morpher anyways…"

Trini took a deep breath.

"_Did you tell the girls anything?" _she asked. _"They were bound to have noticed something about your reactions."_

"No," Jason said. "They still don't know—none of them do. And they aren't going to. All they need to know is the next one to try and cast any kind of spell on Tommy—or me—is not going to like the consequences."

"_Maybe you should just come home…"_ Trini said slowly. _"Magic is dangerous to be around…"_

"We're going to stick it out," Jason said, shaking his head. "I need to make sure Tommy is alright, first. Besides, I promised the girls this visit. I'm not breaking my word to them unless I have no other choice."

"_Just be careful," _Trini said softly. _"You know how Tommy feels about magic—and how easily it affects him. And you aren't much better…"_

"None of us are," Jason muttered. "But we'll be cautious. The last thing I want to deal with is Tommy under someone's control…Thankfully he doesn't have any morphers with him either."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Jason could just see her rolling her eyes.

"_He's dangerous enough without them," _she said. _"Now rest that ankle and take it easy. I love you."_

"Love you, too," Jason smiled. "Give Mark a hug and kiss for me."

Hanging up, Jason leaned his head back again and closed his eyes for a moment. Groaning, he sat up and carefully stood up again. Limping slowly, he headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

* * *

Ice T: Thanks for the comments! We do usually pair Tommy and Hayley together, it's just how we write and what we like. It will come back up in the story again but it won't be the most center focus of it. If we get good inspiration to pair others up (Tommy and Kat, Kim, or OCs the possibilities are endless) we will in future stories who knows... As for Jason's attitude, you're right he isn't someone to not have a good reason not to like someone. The reason that we changed his personality slightly in this case is because it centers around the thought that he has grown up protecting his little sisters. Nick in Jason's eyes is the kid who just caused his sisters to wind up in danger life threatening danger at that, so he doesn't like him. That however isn't easy for him to explain or really understand himself so it comes across as a gut feeling he just doesn't like him. Try and picture him as a more overprotective big brother than he is in the show. That is how we were writing him he will seem a bit more rash though the whole thing, but he is still Jason. Thanks again for the feed back we will use it as we go on writing! Hope you enjoy the story anyway!

Superdory57 over and out!


	12. Chapter 12

A few hours later, Jason jerked away and bolted upright. For a moment he sat there, panting, as remnants of a nightmare lingered. Shaking his head, Jason threw back the blankets and swung his feet onto the floor as he tried to clear old memories away.

"Man," he muttered, taking a deep breath as he ran a hand through his hair. "Haven't had that one in a long time…"

Taking another breath, Jason stood up. The old nightmares were hard to shake sometimes. He could still see Tommy's eyes flashing green as he stood over him with the sword, ready to kill him, and that laugh echoing through the dark dimension. Shaking himself again, Jason limped over to Tommy's bed to check on him.

"Hey, Falcon," Jason muttered, shaking Tommy's shoulder. "You awake? Tommy?"

Tommy didn't react. He was still out cold. Yawning, Jason turned and headed back to his bed. Satisfied, for the moment, that Tommy wasn't going to wake up under the control of some spell and attack him, Jason climbed back into bed.

* * *

_**Playing Power Ranger**_

"_Alright," Jason announced, scooping up Vida as she ran past. "That's it. We're going outside to play."_

_She just giggled as he carried her toward the backdoor. Madison followed after with Chip and Xander bouncing along next to her. The four seven-year-old kids had been running around the house in circles for the past hour driving Jason, who was babysitting, crazy. _

"_What are you going to do?" Zach grinned. "Play fetch with them?"_

_He grunted as Kim elbowed him. Zach, Kim, Trini, Billy, and Tommy were all over hanging out and helping with the kids for a few hours. _

"_I do not believe fetch is an appropriate game choice," Billy frowned as they walked. "While they are indeed young and full of energy, such games are far more suited to canines."_

"_They aren't dogs, Zach," Trini agreed, shaking her head as they all followed. "They're kids."_

"_So?" he said. "They can still play fetch."_

_Trini and Kim exchanged looks, both of them rolling their eyes at him. Tommy just chuckled and shook his head while Billy smiled in amusement. _

"_Oh yeah," Jason grumbled as he set Vida down outside. "They play 'fetch that snack' real well. We can't keep them out of the cookies."_

_The other rangers started laughing as the kids resumed running around with each other. Sprawling out on the grass, they watched the four as they played and listened to their conversation. _

"_Let's be power rangers!" Chip suddenly exclaimed, to the amusement of the rangers. _

"_Can I be the yellow ranger?" Madison asked, bouncing in place. _

_Trini laughed, smiling as Kim bumped against her shoulder._

"_Yep," Chip said. "You can be yellow and V can be pink."_

"_I am not being the pink ranger!" Vida frowned, crossing her arms. "I don't like pink."_

_Zach burst out laughing and Kim smacked his shoulder, rolling her eyes. _

"_What?" he said, wincing._

"_Zach, be nice," Tommy smirked as Jason snickered. _

"_Then what are you gonna be?" Xander asked, frowning. "Cause there's only two girls."_

"_So?" Vida retorted. "I can be any color I wanna be."_

"_Well I'm gonna be the red ranger," Chip announced. _

_Jason snorted, shaking his head._

"_You wish, kid," he muttered. _

"_But I was gonna be the red ranger!" Xander protested._

_Chip sighed._

"_Fine," he grumbled. "You can be the red ranger…but I get to be the black ranger."_

"_Yes!" Zach exclaimed, grinning as he punched the air. "He's my new favorite."_

_The other rangers just rolled their eyes, shaking their head at him._

"_So what are you gonna be, sis?" Madison asked, looking at Vida._

"_Not pink," she responded. "Or green. He's mean…"_

_Tommy flinched as the other three nodded in agreement with Vida. He didn't remember everything from his time as the green ranger, but he remembered some of it—mostly in the form of nightmares. Unfortunately for Tommy, his attack on the four kids was one of them. It had taken Jason weeks to convince Tommy to come over after he'd remembered and the now-white ranger was still a little hesitant around them, no matter what the others said. Seeing Tommy's reaction, Kim scooted closer and took his arm, hugging it as she leaned against his shoulder. _

"_I think the green ranger is pretty great," she said, smiling. _

_Tommy smiled faintly, leaning his head against hers. _

"_I know!" Vida exclaimed. "I'll be the white ranger!"_

"_You can't," Xander protested. "I wanna be the white ranger."_

"_You're the red ranger," Vida said, sticking out her tongue. "No changing."_

_He pouted, crossing his arms._

"_See?" Kim said. "Now they're fighting over you."_

"_Only because they don't know green and white are the same," Tommy sighed. "Or they wouldn't like the white ranger either…At least they don't know it was me wearing the helmet…"_

"_I do not believe they would dislike you if they discovered the truth," Billy said quietly. "We have all seen you playing with them and they love you. It is my belief that, if they were to ascertain the truth about the green ranger's identity, they would overcome their fear and learn to associate their love of Tommy with the green ranger instead of that fear."_

_Tommy couldn't help but smile at Billy's adamant statement._

"_Thanks, Billy," he said. _

_Billy smiled back, nodding. The rangers settled back to watch as the game continued. They sat in the sunshine, enjoying watching the kids portray them as heroes. _

"_So, do you think you'll ever tell them?" Tommy asked quietly, glancing over at Jason. _

_He shook his head._

"_Nah," he said. "As great as it would be to see the looks on their faces when they found out it was us all along, I'm not breaking the code. We'll just have to settle for this."_

_The others nodded._

"_This is good," Kim murmured, still leaning against Tommy's shoulder. _

"_It is," he agreed. "They may not know it, but watching them play Power Ranger has just made the power rangers' day."_

* * *

When the rangers knocked on his hotel room door the next morning, Jason was lounging on his bed. He had his ankle propped up and the remnants of his breakfast on a tray next to him as he watched TV. Waking up to a throbbing ankle, he'd decided not to make the trip downstairs for breakfast and had ordered room service instead, wishing profusely that he wasn't so far away from his morpher. It really was a pain not having it sometimes despite the fact that he knew he wasn't supposed to use it like that. Tommy was still fast asleep on his own bed.

"Jason, it's us!" Vida called through the door, knocking again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Jason muttered.

Groaning, Jason swung his feet off the bed and stood up. He limped over to the door and opened it.

"Hey big brother!" Vida grinned, walking in followed by the rest of the rangers.

"How's Tommy?" Madison asked as Jason shut the door.

Jason gestured toward the bed.

"See for yourself," he said. "Still out cold."

He was still leaning against the door.

"You alright?" Chip asked, frowning as he looked at Jason.

"Yeah, I'm great," he muttered, grimacing as he started limping toward the bed again. "Just fine."

His sisters exchanged looks.

"Jason, did you put ice on your ankle last night?" Madison asked.

"Nah," he said, shaking his head as he sat back down. "I just went to sleep."

"I'll go get some," Madison sighed.

She slipped back out of the room, ice bucket in hand. Nick, Xander, and Chip had grabbed the chairs on the far side of the room while Vida sat down on the edge of Tommy's bed.

"Has he woken up at all?" she asked.

Jason shook his head, propping his ankle back up. A knock on the door indicated Madison was back and Vida hopped up to open the door for her. Madison grabbed a washcloth from the bathroom on her way past. Leaving the ice in the small plastic bag that had been in the bucket, she tied it shut and wrapped the whole thing in the washcloth.

"Here," she said, sitting down on Jason's bed. "Or your ankle isn't going to get better."

"We could always try a healing spell," Xander suggested. "Udonna's been working with us on them."

"No!" Jason snapped, glaring at him.

Taking the makeshift ice pack, he set it on his ankle.

"No magic," Jason said firmly.

Xander shrugged.

"Just a suggestion," he said.

"There's been enough magic," Jason said, shaking his head. "Look at Tommy. Whatever that—girl—did to him really hit him hard."

"Clare didn't mean to hurt him," Chip said. "She was just trying to help."

"Some help," Jason muttered.

The rangers exchanged glances.

"So what exactly is your problem?" Nick asked, crossing his arms as he glared at Jason. "Is it us or the magic?"

Jason eyed him, also crossing his arms.

"Excluding you?" Jason said. "It's the magic. Like I said yesterday—magic is dangerous."

"Not if you know the right way to use it," Xander said.

"And Udonna and Daggeron are really great teachers," Vida added.

Jason shook his head.

"But you aren't the only ones using it," he said. "Magic is a tool that can be dangerous in the wrong hands. And I don't trust those kinds of people."

"But we aren't those kind of people," Chip pointed out.

"And I have no problem with most of you," Jason said again. "But I will never be ok with any of you using magic."

"But why?" Madison asked softly.

Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Maddy," he said slowly. "None of you really were old enough to remember the first attacks on Angel Grove. They were bad—and it was a witch who was responsible. Tommy and I saw her do a lot of bad things to a lot of people. It's not something that just goes away…"

"We didn't realize…" Vida said, shaking her head.

"It's fine, kiddo," Jason said. "Just—keep the magic to a minimum, alright?"

The all nodded in agreement. It was silent for a little while, and then Madison and Vida started asking Jason about Trini and the baby. The rangers spent an hour or so at the hotel before heading out again. For the rest of the day, they popped in and out. Sometimes it was all of them, sometimes just a few. Jason didn't leave the room at all, his sisters insisting on him resting his ankle as much as possible. They brought him lunch and dinner in an attempt to make sure he was resting. Through all of their visits, Tommy stayed fast asleep. When they were leaving for the last time that night, Jason followed them to the door.

"If he doesn't wake up soon," he said, an edge audible in his voice, "then I will be having words with that girl. And I won't leave so easily this time."

Before any of them could say anything, he shut the door and locked it. Turning, Jason headed back over to his bed. His plan was to call Rocky and Adam for an update on the dojo—though he was still debating on what to tell them about Tommy. But as he limped past Tommy's bed, Tommy sighed and shifted. Jason froze, looking at him in surprise. Moving closer, he reached down to shake Tommy's shoulder.

"Tommy?" he said. "Come on, Falcon. You awake?"

Tommy groaned, rolling over.

"Go 'way," he mumbled. "'snot time ta get up…"

Jason shook him again.

"Come on, man," he said. "Snap out of it. Look at me."

Groaning again, Tommy's eyes blinked open and he looked sleepily at Jason. But they didn't stay open. Yawning, Tommy rolled over again, falling back to sleep. Jason still breathed a sigh of relief—there had been no green or red in Tommy's eyes. Leaving him alone again, Jason sat down on his bed and pulled out his phone.

* * *

"I'm forgetting something," Tommy mumbled, shaking his head. "I was supposed to—what day is it again?"

Jason chuckled, shaking his head. They were relaxing at the Rock Porium while they waited for the rangers to arrive. Jason assumed they were at Rootcore doing something. Tommy had finally woken up that morning, though he was still out of it. Jason hadn't told the rangers that Tommy was awake yet—he was planning on surprising them when they finally showed up to work.

"Still Tuesday, bro," Jason said. "You slept through Monday, remember?"

Tommy just frowned, shifting in the armchair Jason had commandeered for him.

"But I know I'm forgetting something…" Tommy muttered.

"Well don't look at me," Jason said. "You don't tell me anything."

The door opened and Jason looked up, expecting to see the rangers. He was surprised to see someone else he recognized.

"What on earth are you four doing here?" he asked.

"We have an invite," Conner grinned. "Hey, Dr. O."

Conner, Ethan, Trent, and Kira all walked into the shop, heading over to join Jason and Tommy. He looked at them in confusion.

"Did you lose your phone again?" Kira asked, walking around Conner. "Hayley's been trying to get a hold of you for almost two days. She said we were supposed to find you before we did anything else—she's not happy."

"That's what I forgot!" Tommy exclaimed. "Jason, did you call Hayley?"

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"No," he muttered. "She's your wife."

"I was unconscious," Tommy said. "Or at least that's what you keep telling me."

The four exchanged glances.

"Umm… what happened?" Trent asked, looking at Jason.

"He hit me," Tommy mumbled, shifting in his chair.

"Jason!" all four exclaimed.

"Dude, you shouldn't go around hitting people," Conner said, shaking his head.

"Don't call me dude," Jason glared. "And I was reacting in self-defense."

"Sure you were," Ethan snorted.

"I was!" Jason protested. "I was waking up after having my life-force stolen. My instinctive reaction was to attack whatever was holding me."

"Yeah, great reaction," Tommy sighed. "You should work on that."

"Hey, don't start with me, bro," Jason said. "You're part of the reason I react like that. And that's not even the reason you were unconscious."

Tommy snorted, shaking his head.

"At least your nose isn't broken anymore," Jason pointed out. "Something good came out of the whole fiasco at Rootcore."

"You broke his nose?" Kira exclaimed.

Jason groaned, shaking his head. The four younger rangers had gathered around Tommy's chair and were looking at Jason for an explanation.

"He ran into a pole," Jason said.

"Yeah, because I was busy making sure my eye was alright," Tommy grumbled. "You were directing me."

Jason rolled his eyes.

"I should call Hayley," Tommy said.

Frowning, he started checking his pockets for his phone.

"Jason, where's my phone?" he asked.

"I have no idea, bro," Jason sighed. "I haven't seen it at all. Did you ever find it when we got here?"

Kira rolled her eyes and glanced around. Spotting Tommy's briefcase on the floor next to his chair, she walked over. Crouching down, she reached into one of the side pockets and fished around for a moment. Straightening up, she held out her hand to Tommy.

"Here you go, Dr. O," she said. "Right where Hayley usually puts it."

"Thanks," Tommy said, taking it from her.

He looked at it for a moment and then started texting. The others turned back to Jason.

"So, what exactly has been going on?" Trent asked. "Hayley sounded kind of concerned when she told us she couldn't get a hold of Dr. O—we did hear about what happened the last time you were here."

Jason glanced around the shop. But there weren't any customers there at the moment and Toby had gone into his office. The younger four exchanged glances.

"This has something to do with the new ranger team, doesn't it?" Kira asked quietly.

"Kind of," Jason sighed. "Tommy and I got caught up in something a few days ago that didn't end well…"

They looked at him expectantly.

"You might as well spill," Ethan said. "We'll hear about it eventually anyways."

"Two days ago there was an attack in the park," Jason said, crossing his arms. "Tommy and I were in the area, so we started trying to get people out—the monster was stealing their life-force."

The four winced.

"That's never fun," Trent muttered.

"You're telling me," Jason grumbled. "Anyways, the rangers showed up and saved the people they could, but the rest were essentially left without their souls—including the father of a little girl Tommy and I barely managed to rescue. I screwed up my ankle during that fight…"

"Then shouldn't you be resting it?" Conner asked.

Jason shot a glare at him.

"It's fine right now," Jason shrugged. "I'm taking it easy."

"Sure you are," Ethan snorted.

"Moving on," Jason growled. "An hour or two later, we were on our way back here when we heard another fight and saw the zords—"

"And Jason decided to go chasing them," Tommy mumbled, interrupting. "So it's all his fault…"

He was leaning back in the chair, still holding his phone and slowly texting on it.

"Shut up, Tommy," Jason retorted. "We both went to see what was happening—hoping the kids would free those people's souls. They didn't. That particular fight ended with the monster escaping. And then Chip decided it was a good idea to pick up a strange bottle that just happen to be lying around and open it—"

"Ok, even I know that's never a good idea," Conner said.

"And he's the one who's usually in trouble," Ethan grinned.

"No kidding," Tommy muttered, shaking his head.

Conner laughed, grinning at Tommy.

"So what was in the bottle?" Kira asked, glaring at Ethan and Conner.

Tommy grimaced and the teens looked at him in surprise.

"They called it a soul specter," Jason explained. "Tommy—who streaked ahead with his ninjetti abilities when we saw Chip pick up the bottle—didn't get the bottle away in time. The creature inside attacked both of them."

"What exactly did it do?" Trent frowned, glancing over at Tommy and then back at Jason.

"Essentially it was devouring Tommy's soul," Jason sighed, running a hand over his head.

"What?" they exclaimed, eyes wide.

All of them looked at Tommy. He just yawned, blinking at his phone.

"He's fine now," Jason said quickly. "But that's where things started to go downhill. I had to tell the kids we knew about them being rangers to make sure I got Tommy some help."

"Oh, I'll bet that went over well," Ethan snickered. "Wish I could have seen the looks on their faces when they realized their biggest secret wasn't as secret as they thought."

"Looking back, it was pretty entertaining," Jason chuckled. "But at the time I was a little more focused on Tommy—he was in a lot of pain…"

As the four younger rangers looked at Tommy in concern, Tommy shot a glare at Jason.

"Stop worrying them," Tommy said. "I'm fine."

"Hayley says we aren't supposed to listen when you say that," Conner said as the other three nodded in agreement.

Tommy turned his glare on them, but they just grinned.

"He's telling the truth—mostly," Jason said, looking at Tommy. "But we'll get to that in a minute."

"Mmm hmmm…" Kira said, crossing her arms and giving him a look.

"Anyways," Jason said, returning her look as he continued. "The rangers took us back to their base—which is in a tree—and that's where we had to split up. Their teacher, a man named Daggeron, took Chip and Tommy with him to get rid of the specters that were slowly killing them. The rest of us went back to deal with the life-force stealing monster."

"Umm…Jason?" Trent said. "I thought you were supposed to be staying out of the fight."

"I wasn't fighting the monster," Jason retorted. "I was trying to get people out of the area before they had their life-force stolen—"

"Some help," Tommy snorted. "All you did was succeed in getting your own life-force stolen."

He was still drifting in and out. At some moments, he was alert and completely aware of what was going on around him and then the next moment he was entirely out of it again, nearly falling asleep in his chair. Jason kept glancing over at him, poking at him anytime he seemed to be getting too sleepy.

"Is he serious, Jason?" Kira asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Jason muttered. "I was trying to get a woman away from them and they pinned me instead…I couldn't break free in time. One minute I'm in their clutches, the next I'm waking up on the ground and Tommy is yelling at me…"

"Cause you hit me," Tommy said, glaring at him. "After I saved your butt dragging you away from the fight."

"I'm sorry," Jason sighed. "Again, it's an instinctive reaction—I couldn't help it."

Tommy rolled his eyes, settling back in his chair again. He frowned at his phone.

"Jason, where are Dr. O's glasses?" Kira asked.

She'd just realized he didn't have them on. Jason looked over at Tommy.

"Oh," he said. "Whoops. Guess I left those back at the hotel… I'll go get them in a little while."

"No wonder he's looking at the phone like that," Ethan said. "It's gotta be hard to read without them."

"Yeah," Tommy mumbled, still trying to read whatever was on the screen.

"Back to what happened," Jason said. "I woke up to Tommy yelling at me—the soul specter was gone. We watched a zord battle from a safe distance. Not long after the fight was over, the kids came to find us. They found me—well, I found them—first and they started freaking out about Tommy being missing. He'd beaten them back to the city."

He paused, frowning and turning to look at Tommy.

"Which reminds me," he said. "How on earth did you beat Chip and Daggeron back?"

"Hayley," Tommy said, not looking up from his phone. "After the specter was gone, I streaked a short distance away from Chip and Daggeron on the mountaintop and called her on my communicator—she opened an invisiportal for me. Though I didn't exactly have the chance to explain why I needed it…"

He flashed his wrist at them to show the watch-like communicator he usually wore—when he wasn't wearing his Dino Thunder one. Jason nodded.

"That makes a lot more sense," he said. "Anyways, after the kids found us we went back to their base again. And that's where things got really bad."

"Why?" Conner asked.

"The rangers are using magic," Jason said grimly.

"What?" the teens exclaimed.

Tommy flinched at the mention of it and Jason nodded, clearly not happy with the revelation.

"Why would they be using magic?" Kira asked. "It's dangerous—that's what Dr. O has always taught us."

"I'm really not sure," Jason sighed, shaking his head. "But they are—and they won't be stopping anytime soon."

"What did they do?" Trent asked, catching that there was something else Jason hadn't said yet.

"One of them cast a spell on Tommy," Jason growled as Tommy flinched again. "Some witch-child they claim is an apprentice sorceress."

"What's the difference?" Conner asked.

"Well," Ethan started to say. "Technically—"

"Not really looking for an answer," Conner interrupted.

Ethan shrugged and let it drop.

"So that's why Dr. O is so out of it?" Trent asked.

Jason nodded grimly.

"The spell—which was supposed to be a healing spell of some sort—knocked him out cold for over twenty-four hours," he said. "Tommy woke for a short time last night, but he didn't really snap out of it until this morning. And he's still not completely free—Tommy!"

Tommy jerked, looking around as he blinked his eyes, yawning.

"You can't sleep, remember?" Jason sighed.

"Why not?" Tommy mumbled, his eyes falling shut again. "I'm tired…"

"Wake up, bro," Jason snapped, reaching over to shake Tommy by the shoulder. "You were asleep for over twenty-four hours. It's time to be awake now."

"Not my fault," Tommy sighed, his eyes not opening. "And you drugged me…"

Jason rolled his eyes.

"I know," he said. "But you still can't sleep—not until a normal hour. And you needed the pain meds. You could barely move when you woke up this morning."

Tommy just sighed again.

"That's it," Jason said, shaking his head. "I'm going to find him coffee."

"Coffee?" Tommy said, perking up a little.

"Yes, coffee," Jason repeated.

He started heading toward the door, still limping a little.

"You four keep an eye on him," Jason said, glancing back over his shoulder. "Don't let him leave the shop. I'll be back after I get some coffee and his glasses."

"Got it, Jason," they chorused.

Jason left, the door shutting behind him. Kira started wandering around the shop, looking at the shelves and seeing if she could find anything she liked. Trent stayed near Tommy, leaning against the nearby wall. Ethan and Conner wandered around for a few minutes, but nothing was really catching their attention.

"That's it," Conner announced a few minutes later. "I'm bored."

Kira turned around to look at him.

"Conner, Jason has barely been gone for five minutes," she said.

"Yeah, and I'm bored," he said. "And hungry. I haven't eaten since we left Reefside."

"You ate in the car," Trent pointed out.

Conner grinned, shrugging.

"Hey, what can I say?" he said. "I've got a fast metabolism and Jason said nothing about bringing something back for us. So I'm going to find food."

Waving behind him as he left, he headed out the door. The other three exchanged glances.

"I'm going to go make sure he doesn't get lost," Ethan said after a moment. "Because I really don't want to spend the rest of the day looking around Briarwood for him."

He headed out the door after Conner. Kira glanced over at Trent. Neither said anything for a moment.

"Alright," Kira sighed. "I'm going after them. If we leave them alone they're bound to get caught up in trouble of some kind—especially with monsters running around…"

"I'll stay with Dr. O," Trent said, nodding. "Someone has to keep him awake."

"Thanks," Kira smiled. "I've got my phone and my communicator—just in case the world ends while I'm chasing those two."

Trent laughed as she headed out the door after the other two boys. Glancing back at Tommy, Trent saw he was drifting off again.

"Hey, Dr. O," Trent said, carefully shaking his shoulder. "Here—play with your phone. There's gotta be something entertaining on there."

Tommy had let his phone drop onto the chair, so Trent handed it back to him. Sighing, Tommy shifted into a more upright position and took the phone. He started clicking through it. Satisfied that Tommy was awake for the moment, Trent started wandering around the shop.

* * *

"Great job, guys," Daggeron said, looking around the room.

He and Chip had just come in from an archery session as the other four finished up working on some new spells with Udonna.

"Thanks, Daggeron," Xander grinned.

"You've all improved a lot since I first started working with you," Daggeron continued. "Your fighting skills and your magical abilities are far ahead of where they used to be. However, there are still areas that need improvement—such as stealth and secrecy."

"No kidding," Nick scoffed.

"Daggeron is correct," Udonna said, regarding the rangers. "I do not know your brother, Madison and Vida, but it is imperative that he keep your secret."

The rangers all exchanged looks.

"We'll talk to him again, Udonna," Madison said. "I'm sure Jason won't say anything."

Udonna nodded.

"See that you do," she said. "For, while it may one day be safe for your identities to become public, at this time it would put all of you in more danger. Therefore it is extremely important to keep them hidden—you will not be able to act as freely if they are compromised."

"We understand," Xander nodded.

She studied them for a moment.

"I think," she said, glancing over at Daggeron, "that perhaps it is time for you to learn some of the history of the power rangers."

"But we already know about the power rangers," Vida said. "We grew up in Angel Grove."

"Yes," Daggeron said. "But as citizens you weren't privy to the secrets of the rangers. I believe Udonna wants you to understand the Code of Honor that was laid down in the very beginning."

"Code of Honor?" Chip asked, frowning.

"Yes," Udonna said, nodding. "Traditionally the power rangers stick strictly to the code. In recent years it seems as though the exact words of the code have not passed down—at least not that I have been able to determine. But I have no direct knowledge of any of the other teams."

"Then what is it?" Nick asked.

"It is a simple principal," Udonna said. "First, you are never to use your powers for personal gain."

"I think we can handle that," Chip said.

"Indeed," Daggeron said, raising an eyebrow.

"Second," Udonna continued. "You must never escalate a battle."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Nick said, shaking his head. "How can we fight if things aren't supposed escalate?"

"You cannot escalate the battle yourselves," Daggeron explained. "Let those on the side of evil make the choice to take it to the next level, such as when they grow to giant size. You wouldn't take zord form before they grew to giant proportions, would you?"

They all shook their heads.

"Then you've followed the code," he said. "Though the battle itself may escalate, you may not be the reason it does so—no matter what happens. The fight against evil itself comes first, then the protection of that which you are assigned to protect, then your team, and finally yourselves."

"So even if one of us is hurt, the fight needs to come first," Madison said slowly, looking at her teammates. "We can't get angry and overreact just because one of our own fell."

"Precisely," Udonna said. "Finally, you must never reveal your identity to anyone."

"But there are teams who have," Vida pointed out. "What about the Space Rangers? They revealed their identities to the entire world."

Udonna nodded.

"Yes, they did," she said. "But only because it was necessary to save the people they were charged with protecting—not because it was a good idea."

"The point is," Daggeron said. "There is a long history behind being a power ranger—you guys have a lot to live up to. And you can't do your job as well if people know who you are. That's when it really starts to be hard to keep the personal out of the fight."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Xander said.

"We'll try to follow the code," Madison said. "We promise—right guys?"

"Right," Nick said. "And that starts with talking to Jason and Tommy."

Udonna nodded in agreement.

"As I said, I do not know your brother or his friend," she said. "But they need to understand how important this is."

"We'll talk to them," Vida promised.

"We need to talk to Jason anyways," Madison sighed. "Neither of us has heard from him about Tommy waking up—and he said he'd let us know…"

Udonna frowned.

"That is odd," she said. "Even though Clare put too much strength into the spell, he still should have woken by this time."

"Well, as far as we know he's still out," Vida shrugged, exchanging concerned glances with Madison.

"Do you know if your brother's friend has had any past incidences with magic?" Udonna asked.

The girls shook their heads.

"I mean, just what they were around in Angel Grove," Vida said. "But I don't think anyone ever did anything to them—at least not that we can remember."

"Hmm…" Udonna said thoughtfully. "I ask because someone who has never been affected by magic would have a stronger resistance to it. Whereas someone who has been under a spell before would have their resistance broken down—magic would affect them more strongly if they do not have their own magical defenses in place."

The rangers frowned, looking at each other.

"Well, maybe Jason just forgot to call," Madison said slowly. "Because he would have told us if Tommy was under a spell when they were younger—right?"

She looked at Vida with the last question. Vida shrugged.

"Not if they thought it would freak us out," she said. "But I'm sure everything is fine."

"V's right," Nick interrupted. "Let's get back to the Rock Porium. If Jason isn't around, we'll track him down at the hotel and make sure he understands that all of this is a secret."

The girls rolled their eyes, but nodded. Saying goodbye to Daggeron and Udonna, the rangers headed back toward Briarwood.

* * *

"Did you get a hold of your brother yet?" Nick asked, looking over at Vida and Madison.

They were almost to the Rock Porium and trying to figure out where Jason was. Both girls shook their heads.

"He's not answering his phone," Vida said.

"You don't think he's mad at us, do you?" Madison asked in concern. "He seemed pretty upset when we left last night…"

"You don't think he might have gone after Clare, do you?" Chip asked.

They shook their heads.

"No," Madison said. "Jason's always been bad with directions. He'd never have found his way back to Rootcore by himself."

"That doesn't mean she's safe," Xander said.

"If Clare needed help, Udonna or Daggeron are close enough to help her," Vida said. "Besides, Maddy is right. I mean, Jason got lost all the time in high school—came home late all the time because he'd take a wrong turn somewhere. Drove mom and dad nuts. Especially on days where there were monster attacks in the city."

Madison laughed, nodding in agreement. They reached the Rock Porium. Opening the door, the five rangers walked inside.

"Tommy!" Madison exclaimed, stopping just inside.

She'd seen Tommy still relaxing in his chair, phone in hand. His head jerked up when she called out his name and he looked around in confusion.

"What?" he said. "Oh—ummm… Maddy?"

Vida and Madison both ran over to him to hug him in excitement.

"You're awake," Vida grinned. "Well, sort of."

There was a snort of laughter from over by one of the CD racks. She looked up to see a young man with dark hair in a white shirt shaking his head as he watched them with a look of amusement on his face. Brushing it off, she turned her attention back to Tommy.

"Where's Jason?" Madison asked.

Tommy frowned.

"I don't know," he said after a moment. "He went to get me something—I think…I need coffee…"

He stood up, wincing a little as he straightened. But once he was sure of his balance, Tommy headed for the door.

"Tommy, wait," Madison said, grabbing his arm. "You really shouldn't be wandering around like this—it's not safe."

"I'm fine," he said. "I just need to get some coffee."

Madison and Vida tried to get him to stop, but he just kept walking. They didn't want to pull too hard, afraid to hurt him or pull him off of his feet. He'd almost made it to the door when the young man Vida had noticed a short time before inserted himself between Tommy and the door.

"Where are you going, Dr. O?" he asked, crossing his arms as he blocked the door.

"I'm going to get coffee," Tommy said, pausing and frowning at him.

The young man shook his head.

"Jason went to get you some already," he said, not moving.

"Oh," said Tommy. "He did?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "But he can't give it to you if you leave, so why don't you go sit back down? He shouldn't be too long."

Shrugging, Tommy turned and walked away to look at one of the CD racks. Vida and Madison looked at the young man in confusion.

"Who are you?" Vida asked suspiciously.

"And how do you know Tommy?" Madison added.

"Name's Trent," he said, nodding at her. "I'm an old student of Dr. O's—know him pretty well, actually."

Tommy snorted, shaking his head as he wandered around. Shifting out of the way of the door, Trent leaned against the wall next to it, still keeping an eye on Tommy. The girls let it go for the moment, turning back to Tommy in concern.

"Tommy, have you eaten?" Madison asked. "You really shouldn't be drinking a lot of coffee without eating something."

He shrugged.

"Not really hungry," he said. "Just tired."

As if to prove a point, he yawned, blinking to keep his eyes open. Madison and Vida exchanged looks.

"When was the last time you ate?" Madison said.

"Well, he certainly didn't eat at all yesterday," Vida said. "And I doubt he had more than breakfast the day before."

Madison sighed.

"And if his habits are anything like they used to be then it wasn't much," she said, shaking her head. "Then he probably just had a smoothie of some sort—I'm going to find him something to eat. There's bound to be something stashed in the back."

"I'll help you look," Nick volunteered.

Nodding, Madison disappeared into the backroom and Nick followed. Vida stayed with Tommy. Chip was in the room, too. Standing near one of the counters, he frowned as he looked at Trent. Returning Chip's stare, Trent raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, kid," he said. "You're being weird. Quit staring at me."

"Sorry," Chip said quickly. "I just—do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar."

Trent shrugged.

"Never been in Briarwood before," he answered. "So I doubt it."

"What's your name again?" Chip asked.

"Trent Mer—" Trent started to say.

He was interrupted by the door opening. Jason stalked in, freezing for a moment when he saw Tommy's empty chair.

"Tommy!" he exclaimed, looking around.

"What?" Tommy said, looking around to see who was yelling at him now.

"Did you really think I'd let him take off?" Trent smirked, not moving from his spot.

Jason ignored him, heading straight for Tommy.

"What is this?" Jason demanded, holding out his phone to Tommy.

"A phone," Tommy said distractedly, looking at the cup of coffee in Jason's hand. "Is that for me? Trent said you were getting me coffee."

He started to reach for it but Jason pulled the coffee away.

"Not until you answer my question," Jason snapped. "What is this?"

"It's a phone," Tommy repeated, frowning at it.

"Umm… Jason?" Trent interrupted. "He still doesn't have his glasses on…"

"Oh, right," Jason muttered. "Here."

He handed over Tommy's glasses. Tommy took them and put them on.

"That's better," he sighed, blinking as he adjusted his glasses. "Can I have my coffee now?"

He reached for the cup again, but Jason wouldn't let him have it.

"Explain this first," Jason growled, holding his phone out again. "What is this?"

Tommy, able to see what was on the phone now, smirked.

"That's you in a tutu," he said.

Trent looked at them in surprise, as did Vida and Chip.

"What?" Vida exclaimed. "Let me see!"

But Jason just put his phone away.

"Where did it come from?" he demanded, looking at Tommy.

Tommy shrugged.

"Hayley found it in my archives at home," he said. "She sent it to me to cheer me up at some point—found it again while I was trying to keep myself awake a little while ago. Now can I have my coffee?"

Rolling his eyes, Jason handed over the coffee. Tommy took it and headed straight back to his chair, already drinking. As he was sitting down, the door burst open again and Conner raced inside.

"Dr. O, this is awesome!" he cried. "Where did you get a picture of Jason in a tutu?"

Jason froze. He turned to look at Conner in surprise.

"What?" he exclaimed. "How did you get that?"

"Dr. O sent it to me," Conner snickered, looking down at his phone as he texted with someone.

Jason groaned and spun back to look at Tommy.

"Who did you send that to?" he asked.

"My contact list," Tommy answered, taking another drink of his coffee.

He'd drained most of the cup already.

"Which one?" Jason growled.

"Well, since Conner has it and I don't," Trent grinned, looking up from his phone. "Which one do you think?"

"No," Jason said, shaking his head. "No. He can't have—"

"Yep," Conner grinned. "He sent it to the reds."

"Would have sent it to the new guy, too," Tommy added. "But I don't have his number."

Vida and Chip exchanged confused looks, but no one was paying attention to them anymore.

"Tommy!" Jason exclaimed. "But that means TJ has it!"

"Yep," Conner laughed. "And he just said he's thinking about passing it on to everyone else—I'm telling him to go for it."

Jason turned his glare on Conner.

"Give me the phone, kid," he growled.

He tried to snatch it away, but Conner moved his hand. So Jason grabbed him, putting Conner in a headlock as he tried to wrestle the phone away. Trent was laughing, leaning against the wall for support now. Vida and Chip were watching in surprise. From the familiar way Conner had spoken to Tommy and Jason, they assumed he knew them. But they really didn't know what to do about what was happening.

"Jason!" Madison exclaimed, walking out of the back room. "You can't do that to customers!"

"He's not a customer," Jason retorted, not letting up. "He's a pest."

"You can't call me a pest," Conner choked out, laughing while he tried to keep breathing. "Only Hayley and Dr. O can call me a pest—"

"He's right," Tommy agreed.

"You stay out of this," Jason snapped. "You started the whole thing anyways."

"Too late," Conner gasped, still laughing. "Message sent—"

"So is TJ's," Trent snorted, holding up his phone. "You're never going to stop it now, Jason. Everyone is going to have it within the hour."

Muttering under his breath, Jason let go of Conner. He hit the floor, laughing and gasping for air as the door opened again. Kira and Ethan came hurrying inside. Seeing Conner on the floor, they paused.

"Aw, man," Ethan sighed. "We missed something good."

"Yes you did," Trent laughed, straightening up from the wall. "Get the message from TJ yet?"

"No," Ethan answered, whipping out his phone. "Conner showed us the picture already, but—oh! Got it!"

"What is going on out here?" Xander asked, walking out of Toby's office. "Toby's working on some kind of puzzle and says if we can't keep it down he's not going to pay us for today."

"Hey, they're the ones making noise, not us," Vida said, pointing at Jason and Conner. "Jason is beating on some kid."

"Not a kid," Conner retorted, climbing to his feet.

Kira snorted, rolling her eyes.

"You sure act like it some days," she remarked.

"Hey!" Conner said. "I resent that…"

She smirked in response as the Vida and the others turned to see who was in the shop. Seeing Kira, Vida froze in surprise.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, staring at Kira. "You—you're—You're Kira Ford!"

Kira turned to look at Vida, smiling when she realized who it was.

"Hey," she said. "You must be Vida. Dr. O told me about you. A DJ, right?"

Vida nodded mutely.

"That's great," Kira smiled. "We were going to be passing by here, so Dr. O asked if we'd stop by for a little while. I guess he thought you'd like to meet me."

Vida whirled around to look at Tommy.

"You invited her?" she exclaimed.

He grinned.

"Of course I did," he said. "Jason told you I knew her."

"Thank you!" Vida said, throwing her arms around Tommy.

He winced slightly in pain, but hugged her back.

"So who are the rest of them?" Chip asked, looking at the three boys.

"My friends," Kira answered. "We're all Dr. O's former students. Now, Vida and Madison we know from what Jason and Dr. O told us. Who are the rest of you?"

Tommy, his coffee gone, took over introductions.

"Kira, Ethan, Conner, and Trent," he said, each one nodding at their name. "That's Chip and Nick is the one in red."

Chip and Nick nodded, though Nick frowned at Tommy.

"And the green one is—" Tommy started to continue, looking at Xander.

In panic, Vida clapped a hand over Tommy's mouth. Everyone looked at her in surprise as the five Mystic Force rangers exchanged glances.

"Is something wrong?" Trent asked, frowning at Vida.

Quickly pulling her hand away, she shook her head.

"No, of course not," she said.

"Then what's with the sudden cut off?" Conner asked. "He was just pointing out that the kid was wearing green. Is that a problem?"

The five rangers shook their heads, exchanging looks again. All of them had been thinking the same thing—that Tommy had been about to spill their secret by pointing out Xander as the green ranger.

"Wait a minute," Xander said, looking at Conner. "Conner McKnight!"

"What?" Conner said, whipping his head around. "I didn't do anything."

His friends laughed, shaking their heads.

"No," Xander said. "You're Conner McKnight—the soccer player?"

"Oh, right," Conner said. "Yeah, I am."

"Xander Bly," Xander said, holding out a hand. "I watch your games all the time."

Conner grinned and started to reach out to shake Xander's hand.

"I don't like him," Tommy suddenly muttered, eying Xander.

Conner immediately jerked his hand back and ran it through his hair instead. Xander looked at him in surprise. Kira, Trent, and Ethan were looking at Tommy, a little shocked that he had actually said that.

"Sorry," Conner shrugged. "But if Dr. O doesn't like you, then I'm going to keep my distance. I have enough trouble staying on his good side some days as it is."

"That's still kind of rude," Madison frowned.

"Just let it go, Maddy," Jason said, shaking his head. "All four of them are loyal to a fault when it comes to Tommy—you won't change their minds. Believe me. I've tried…"

The four smirked at Jason.

"It's never going to happen, Jason," Kira said before turning to his sister. "Come on, Vida. Why don't you show me what you can do?"

"Great!" Vida exclaimed. "And you can call me V."

"Got it, V," Kira smiled.

The two of them headed over to the DJ tables. Conner had put some more distance between himself and Xander, wanting to make it clear to Tommy that he wasn't being friendly with him.

"So, you're the rookie?" Conner asked, crossing his arms as he looked at Nick.

Nick turned to face him in surprise.

"What was that?" he said.

"I said you must be the rookie," Conner repeated. "You know—the new guy?"

"Your point?" Nick frowned.

"No point," Conner shrugged, grinning.

"I got it!" Chip suddenly exclaimed, interrupting. "You're Trent Mercer!"

Trent looked up at him in surprise.

"Duh," Ethan said, shaking his head. "And I'm Ethan James—what are you getting at?"

"You're the comic book artist who is publishing a series about the Dino Thunder Power Rangers!" Chip said excitedly, bouncing over to Trent.

"Nerd alert," Conner snorted, turning away to look at Nick again.

"Yeah," Trent nodded. "I take it you've read some of them?"

"Of course!" Chip answered. "I own all of the ones that are out so far. How did you come up with all of the stories?"

Trent shrugged.

"I live in Reefside," he said. "It's not hard to get stories when you live in the city where the rangers were."

Chip nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

"I could give you some great ideas," he said. "How about one about an awesome yellow ranger with red hair who always saves his teammates butts?"

Nick shot a glare at Chip, but he wasn't paying attention. Madison and Xander sighed, rolling their eyes, though they did look a little concerned. But Trent just shrugged it off, pretending not to have noticed Chip's not-so-vague reference to himself.

"I'm still working on Dino Thunder," Trent answered. "And I've got something else in the works after that. It's actually part of why we're going on this trip."

"Trip?" Madison said. "But I thought you were just here with Kira to see Vida."

"Nope," Ethan said, shaking his head. "This was just a last minute side trip. We're actually heading over to Blue Bay Harbor."

Tommy snorted.

"Forgot you were on your way to visit the psychos," he muttered.

"You know, they aren't going to like it when we tell them you said that," Conner grinned.

Tommy shrugged.

"They don't scare me," he said.

"But they can sure irritate you," Jason grumbled. "And if they're trying hard enough they'll annoy the rest of us, too."

That just made Tommy laugh.

"That's not our only stop, though," Ethan said. "Remember? We're also swinging through Turtle Cove—"

"Why? I don't know…" Conner muttered. "Talk about irritating…"

Ethan shot him a look.

"Quit interrupting," he said. "As I was saying. We're also going to Turtle Cove, Silver Hills, Mariner Bay, and then Angel Grove before heading back to Reefside."

"Wow!" Chip said. "So you're doing research for your comic books?"

Trent, Ethan, and Conner exchanged looks and Kira glanced over from the DJ tables.

"Sure," Trent said, nodding. "Research."

Nick scoffed.

"How is driving all over the state doing research?" he asked.

"All of those cities had their own power ranger teams," Chip explained. "So there are bound to be records and all sorts of cool things to find. Kind of wish I could go…"

"Well, you can't," Nick said shortly. "You have work, remember?"

"Yeah, I know…" Chip sighed.

"Relax, rookie," Conner said, leaning against the nearby counter. "He couldn't come even if he wasn't working—no extra seats."

Ringing caught their attention before Nick could snap a reply. Trent reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He glanced at the caller ID before answering.

"Hey, Hayley," he said.

He paused, listening to what she was saying.

"Yeah, he's drugged," Trent said, glancing over at Tommy. "Among other things. Hey Dr. O?"

Tommy looked up at Trent.

"Hayley says stop texting," Trent said. "You aren't making any sense."

Tommy sighed, putting his phone away. Trent had gone back to listening to Hayley.

"I don't know the full story," Trent answered. "We just got the quick version."

He walked away from the others, leaving them to keep talking as he spoke on the phone.

"But apparently they got caught up in a monster attack," he continued.

His comment caught the attention of the five Mystic Force rangers. They all looked at each other and then at Jason. His attention was on Trent, however.

"Sure," Trent said, nodding as he walked over to Tommy. "Here you go, Dr. O."

He held the phone out to Tommy. He took the phone.

"Hi, Hayley," he smiled. "Uh-huh…Jason hit me. He broke my nose…No, it's fine now…I don't know, but it's not broken anymore…"

The five newest rangers all froze, but Tommy wasn't paying attention to them.

"Maybe it was—no, it was after," he frowned. "Yeah, it was after the thing that stole my soul…No, my soul is intact…It is! I'm fine…That was after that…He got his life-force stolen… But I was shaking him and he hit me. And then he ran me into a pole…"

Exchanging panicked looks, the rangers were trying to figure out how to keep Tommy quiet about them and Rootcore. But with Kira, Trent, Ethan, and Conner in the room, they couldn't just say something out loud.

"Yes, that's what I broke my nose on," Tommy sighed. "But it's not broken anymore…I don't know, I was unconscious…Yes, since Sunday night…I just woke up this morning…Yeah, Jason gave me medicine…No, I can't remember…"

He paused, frowning.

"Nope," he said, shaking his head. "All I remember is seeing Jason holding out pills and coffee and saying I wasn't allowed to have the coffee until I took the pills…Did I tell you Jason sprained his ankle? Some weird creature in the park hit him…I don't know, but my ribs hurt a lot…Yeah, that's probably Jason's fault, too…Oh. Ok."

Tommy looked over at Jason, holding out the phone.

"Hayley wants to talk you," he said.

"Great," Jason muttered, reaching for the phone. "I'm dead. I am so dead. Hello?"

He immediately had to jerk the phone away from his ear as Hayley started shouting.

"Ha—Hay—Hayley!" Jason exclaimed. "Would you please let me get outside?"

Still trying to get her attention, he headed toward the door. The Mystic Force rangers watched him go in concern.

"We can't let him say anything to her," Nick hissed to Chip and Madison, the two closest to him.

"Then we should go after him," Madison said. "Or at least one of us… Just to remind him."

Ethan, Conner, Kira, and Trent were exchanging looks. Conner nodded to them.

"I've gotta listen to this," Conner grinned, starting to head toward the door. "Jason is in so much trouble this time."

"Wait for me," Ethan said, following him.

Chip and Nick both darted forward in panic and took Ethan and Conner by the arm.

"Hey!" Conner snapped, yanking his arm away from Nick. "What are you doing, rookie?"

"Umm… There are some CD's we want to show you," Chip said quickly before Nick could snap something back. "Come on."

Becoming suddenly compliant, Ethan and Conner allowed themselves to be towed away from the door by Nick and Chip. They smirked at the back of the heads of the other two boys. While Vida was in the middle of playing a mix on the DJ tables, Kira stepped down to wander around the shop a little bit. As she headed toward a rack closer to the door, Xander intercepted her. He leaned against the shelf in front of her, smiling.

"Hey," he said. "So how long are you going to be in town?"

Kira raised an eyebrow, looking at him.

"Just this afternoon," she answered. "Why?"

"Thought maybe you might like a tour around town," he grinned. "By yours truly, of course. I can show you all the best places around."

"Mmm hmmm…" Kira said. "Wasn't really planning on a grand tour today, but thanks anyways."

The conversation had caught Trent's attention. Frowning, he started walking over.

"Oh, come on," Xander insisted. "It'll be great. We can ditch your friends for a while and see the sights. It's lunchtime now if you wanna stop for a bite to eat first."

"She already said she wasn't interested," Trent said, slinging an arm around Kira's shoulders. "Besides, she's taken."

He glared at Xander. Kira smiled, glancing up at Trent as she shifted a little closer.

"I love it when you're all possessive like that," she laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder. "It's cute."

Xander was looking at Trent in surprise.

"Sorry," he said. "Didn't realize she was your girl."

Trent glowered at him.

"Don't worry about it," Kira said. "You could have tried all day and never changed my mind anyways. I don't respond to meaningless flirting."

"Had to try, babe," Xander grinned, shrugging.

Kira's eyes narrowed. Trent went from standing casually with an arm around her shoulders to grabbing her around the waist to stop her from hitting Xander.

"Don't call me 'babe'!" she growled.

Xander took a step backward in surprise. Ethan and Conner burst out laughing.

"Yes!" Conner exclaimed. "It wasn't me this time!"


	13. Chapter 13

AN: Hey everyone hope you are having a great time with this story. We like your comments and feedback it makes us better writers hazergirl1220 and have worked hard on trying to get everything set up right, so if you spot any grammar or other small problems. As i have said at the beginning this story is totally written so there won't be any major changes, but advise is always taken for the next story. I am rambling now so anyway guest review replies are at the end of the chapter. On with the story.

* * *

Leaving the shop, Jason kept heading down the street a ways.

"Alright," he said to Hayley. "I'm outside."

"_Good," _she snapped. _"Now tell me what happened. Tommy's texts weren't exactly coherent and my conversation with him didn't clear anything up. So start from the beginning."_

"Just give me a minute to get clear of anymore people," Jason said, glancing around. "No one else needs to hear this conversation."

"_I don't care what you do," _Hayley said. _"Just tell me what happened to my husband."_

Finding a secluded alcove off a building, Jason stepped off the sidewalk. He'd be able to see anyone coming from there so he could be careful what he said.

"Alright," he sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"_I want to know what happened," _she said shortly. _"He's obviously drugged right now. Just how much did you give him?"_

"Two of the pain pills," Jason answered. "Just like it says on the bottle."

Hayley groaned.

"_Jason, he only takes one," _she sighed. _"Never two—though that explains a lot… Now what did you two get yourselves into?"_

"In our defense," Jason said. "We weren't trying to get involved in anything. All we were doing was taking a walk through the park while we waited for the kids to come back from training or studying or whatever they were doing that morning."

"_Uh-huh," _she said. _"I'm sure."_

"It's true!" Jason protested.

Hayley sighed.

"_The sad thing is I know that's probably true," _she muttered. _"So what happened in the park?"_

"We were walking around and next thing we knew people were running and screaming," he said. "There were monsters running around and people were collapsing. What were we supposed to do? We could just leave people helpless."

"_Oh, good," _Hayley said. _"Please tell me Tommy didn't willingly go running into this fight."_

"Well, not exactly," Jason said, shaking his head. "We were just trying to get people out of the park. Any of the fighting was all me. He did later though when he tried to stop their yellow from doing something stupid—that didn't end well…"

"_Of course he did," _Hayley sighed. _"So this is where you get your life-force stolen, then?"_

"Ummm… no," Jason admitted. "That comes later too…"

"_So you put yourself into this situation more than once?" _she exclaimed.

"Yeah…" he muttered. "That first time all that happened was I sprained my ankle…"

"_But that was just the first time," _Hayley said. _"Have you told Trini yet?"_

"Yes," Jason said. "I called her that first night—"

"_You called Trini but you didn't call me?" _she shouted, making Jason wince again.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But that's supposed to be Tommy's job."

"_He was unconscious!" _she snapped. _"How was he supposed to call me? Jason, you need to call me when things like this happen. I have a right to know what's going on with my husband!"_

"I'm sorry," Jason repeated. "I forgot, ok?"

"_No, it's not ok," _Hayley said shortly. _"Apparently I'm going to have to start sending a chaperone with the two of you."_

"Hayley…" Jason sighed.

"_No," _she said. _"If you can't be responsible enough to call me when something happens to Tommy, then the two of you shouldn't be allowed to go on trips by yourself."_

"None of this was our fault!" Jason protested.

Hayley took a deep breath.

"_Just—just start from the beginning," _she said. _"I won't say anything else until you're done explaining. So go ahead."_

Sighing, Jason nodded and started over again.

* * *

Back inside the shop, the Mystic Force rangers were all gathered by the DJ tables whispering amongst themselves.

"Maddy, V," Nick said quietly. "I thought you said Tommy wouldn't say anything about us. Do you realize just how close he came to spilling our secret?"

The girls exchanged worried glances.

"Yeah, we do," Vida said. "But Tommy usually isn't like this…"

"Sis is right," Madison agreed. "Most of the time you can't get anything out of Tommy unless he wants you to know. I really don't know what's wrong with him…"

"Could it be a side effect of Clare's spell?" Chip asked.

"No idea," said Xander. "Maybe we should ask Udonna. What are the chances of getting Tommy to agree to letting her check him over?"

"Not gonna happen," Vida answered quickly. "Not with the reaction they had last time. Jason and Tommy don't react like that without good reason."

"Even if they won't tell us the whole reason," Madison added. "Which happens all the time…We'll just have to keep an eye on him."

"Then do that," Nick nodded. "We can't risk him spilling something important."

"I'm sure he won't," Vida said. "Though I still don't understand why he's acting like this…"

"Oh, don't worry," Ethan laughed as he walked past. "This is what happens when Dr. O is on drugs."

They all looked at him in surprise, not realizing he'd been so close. Kira, Trent, and Conner weren't far away either and came to join Ethan.

"Ethan is right," Kira agreed. "You know that brain to mouth filter people—well, most people—have?"

She glanced over at Conner as she said that and he glared at her.

"Yeah," Chip said, nodding.

"Well, usually Dr. O's is like a brick wall," Kira continued. "Everything is examined before it's allowed past. But when he's on strong medication—"

"It goes poof," Conner grinned. "Dissolves like nothing was there. It's really entertaining because he'll say just about anything."

"Like this," Ethan said, turning to Tommy. "Hey Dr. O, what did you get me for my birthday this year?"

"That new gaming chip for your computer," Tommy said absently. "Model X10—Hey!"

He glared at Ethan, who grinned back.

"See?" Ethan said to the other five.

"I'm calling Hayley," Tommy muttered, pulling his phone out. "You're not getting a birthday present now."

"Aww…. Come on, Dr. O," Ethan said. "I really wanted that…And besides, Hayley's on the phone with Jason."

"Then I'll text her," Tommy retorted. "She'll get it."

"Great," Ethan muttered, turning back to the others. "Should have just asked about Conner's present."

"Don't even think about it," Conner said. "I don't want him taking mine away, too."

"Anyways," Trent interrupted before they could start arguing. "This is why he doesn't usually take anything stronger than aspirin. He's got a high pain tolerance, but low drug tolerance because he's usually not allowed to take anything. Hasn't been since something happened in college."

Madison and Vida exchanged looks. They knew why Tommy wasn't allowed pain medication most of the time, not that they wanted to discuss it with anyone else. It was something private and, from the sounds of it, his four students had no idea the real reasons.

"Which is why we're pretty sure Jason gave him too much this morning," Kira said, appearing not to have noticed their looks. "So if there are any secrets you don't want spilled—don't bring them up. Because no promises on him keeping them—not that he'd ever tell on purpose."

"Great," Nick muttered. "Just great."

"Oh, relax, rookie," Conner grinned. "What could he possibly have on the five of you after less than a week? You've got nothing to worry about."

Nick glared at him, but Conner laughed as the four turned and walked away again.

* * *

"So, once the whole general fiasco was over, the kids came and found us again," Jason said, starting to wrap up his explanation. "Not that we were hiding from them or anything. Oh. And Tommy's disappearance from that mountaintop confused them to no end. I keep having to change the subject any time it comes up. Not really a good way to explain that away…"

"_But none of this explains why Tommy was unconscious for over twenty-four hours," _Hayley pointed out. _"And why he's acting so out of it this morning."_

Jason grimaced, hesitating. He was trying to avoid the inevitable explosion when Hayley found out about the magic, but he wasn't going to be able to hold it off much longer.

"Well," he said slowly. "I did drug him when he woke up."

"_That's does not explain it away," _Hayley said shortly. _"He's never this bad with just drugs. And, on top of that, the doctors usually call the wife when something like this happens."_

"We didn't go to the doctors…" Jason mumbled.

"_Jason!" _she exclaimed. _"You know about his history with comas. Why on earth wouldn't you take him to the doctor?"_

"Because they wouldn't have been able to help," he snapped.

"_Why?" _Hayley growled.

"Something happened at the rangers' base," Jason said slowly.

"_Jason!" _Hayley snapped. _"What happened to Tommy? Tell me now."_

"Alright," Jason sighed. "But you aren't going to like this…"

"_If you don't tell me right now," _Hayley growled. _"I'm going hack in and destroy your credit to the point that you won't be able to get anything without Trini's help for the rest of your life!"_

"Fine!" Jason exclaimed. "The kids and their teachers may or may not be using—magic…"

"_What?" _Hayley cried.

"And one of them cast a spell on Tommy," Jason muttered.

"_They did what?" _Hayley sputtered.

"It was apparently supposed to be some kind of healing spell," Jason sighed. "Supposedly the girl who cast it was just a little over exuberant in her casting—it knocked Tommy out cold. I guess she's some student training with their head witch—"

"_You let some amateur—witch—cast a spell on Tommy?" _Hayley shouted. _"What were you thinking? You know how he is with magic!"_

"I didn't let anyone do anything!" Jason snapped back. "No one had permission to use magic of any kind on Tommy."

"_So you just stood there and let it happen?" _she demanded.

"Hayley!" Jason exclaimed. "It wasn't like I was expecting it to happen. And on top of that, I was still in shock over the fact that my sisters are using magic!"

"_Are there any side effects of that spell?" _Hayley asked sharply.

"I don't know," Jason sighed. "I didn't exactly stick around long enough to ask—and I'm not letting him go anywhere near that place again."

"_Good," _she snapped. _"Now bring him home."_

"Hayley, we'll be home next week," Jason frowned.

"_No, bring him home now," _she growled. _"I need to run tests and make sure he's alright. If he's lost control again—"_

"Hayley, he's fine," Jason said. "I haven't let him out of my sight since it happened—at least not until the kids got here. They're with him now and they won't let anything happen to him. They know how to handle it."

"_Fine, if you won't bring him home, send him with them," _she ordered. _"At least he'll be away from there."_

"He's not leaving," Jason argued. "If there are side effects there's a good chance only they'll be able to fix them."

"_Then I will come out there and take it out of their hides," _she snarled. _"I want Tommy out of there. Don't make me come get him."_

"Hayley, please," Jason pleaded. "Let it go. We're fine now."

"_Oh, are you?" _she asked. _"Does Trini know about any of this?"_

"Yeah, she knows," Jason muttered.

"_And she didn't call me?" _Hayley exclaimed.

"No," Jason said. "She probably thought I'd be calling you."

"_Because you should have!" _she snarled. _"You of all people should know what magic does to Tommy!"_

"Yeah, I know," Jason snapped. "I'm the one he tried to kill, remember? I remember what it was like when he was under someone else's control and I'm not about to let that happen again. Not to mention what happened freshman year in college… Magic and Tommy don't mix."

"_Then bring him home," _Hayley snapped back.

"When our trip is over," Jason retorted. "I made a promise to my sisters and I'm not breaking it unless I have to—even if they are practicing magic. I made it very clear to them how I felt and the consequences of them using magic around us again."

"_Fine," _Hayley said. _"You know what? I'm calling Trini. By the time I'm done you'll be sleeping in a tent in the backyard."_

"Hayley…" Jason groaned.

"_And, even better," _she continued. _"I'm sending a message to Kim and Kat."_

Jason grimaced.

"Please don't do that," he said. "I really don't want to—"

"_Sent," _Hayley interrupted smugly. _"Now I want to talk to my husband."_

"You just had to do it, didn't you?" Jason muttered as he started heading back into the store. "Just had to get them involved. They're going to kill me!"

"_Too bad for you," _Hayley said, clearly not happy with him. _"You're the one insisting on staying there, so deal with the consequences."_

Rolling his eyes, Jason walked back inside. Mystic Force was still grouped by the DJ tables while Tommy's four were over by him.

"Here," Jason said shortly, holding out the phone. "It's your wife."

"Hi Hayley," Tommy said, taking the phone back.

Jason stalked away, grumbling under his breath. The teens snickered.

"I saw a really cool tree the last time I was awake," Tommy said. "It looked like a dragon…Can I start working with the trees at our house? I can start trimming things and make some topiaries…Why not?...So? How about out in the woods over the—entrance?…Well it's not like anyone goes out there… What? Oh, I sent that because—well, for revenge…No, just my reds list…Oh, that was TJ…Oh. Sure."

Tommy looked over at Jason.

"Hayley says I'm not allowed to take anymore medication without her express permission," he said.

Jason rolled his eyes, but nodded as Tommy paused.

"And also that someone needs to film me acting like this so she has blackmail," Tommy continued. "Wait a minute! Hayley! Why did you tell me to say that?"

The teens had started laughing harder. Ethan had immediately whipped his phone out, camera on.

"That's not fair…" Tommy muttered. "I'm not giving you your birthday present now…You won't find it before I get back…No, I hid it in the attic—hey! Hayley, this is cheating…"

"Dr. O is pouting," Conner snorted. "Please tell me you're still filming."

Ethan nodded, laughing too hard to respond as he tried to hold his phone steady.

"Alright," Tommy sighed. "Yes, I'll call you later tonight…Ok. I love you too. Bye."

As he hung up, Trent held out his hand expectantly. Tommy frowned for a moment and then actually looked at the phone in his hand.

"And that's not my phone," he said. "Sorry about that, Trent."

Trent shrugged, putting his phone away.

"Not a problem," he said. "I just don't want to leave without it. Dad wouldn't be happy if he tried to call and couldn't get a hold of me."

Tommy chuckled.

"Probably not," he said, leaning back in his chair.

He yawned, his eyes starting to droop again.

"Hey Jason," Conner said. "Dr. O needs more coffee."

"But he already had a huge cup," Chip said.

The teens laughed.

"What's so funny?" Xander asked.

"One cup of coffee isn't going to do anything," Ethan said, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Madison asked. "He's been more awake."

"Because he's been talking," Kira pointed out.

Jason shook his head.

"He's had more than one cup," he said. "He had some this morning."

"I'm right here…" Tommy mumbled. "Stop talking like I'm not here…"

"Then wake up," Jason said.

"Get me more coffee," Tommy retorted, stifling another yawn.

"I think you probably should, big brother," Vida said. "Cause Tommy looks like he's about to fall asleep again…"

Tommy yawned and Jason sighed.

"Come on, bro," Jason said, reaching over to shake Tommy's shoulder. "Wake up. Haven't you had enough coffee yet?"

"No," Conner snorted.

"Dr. O practically ran on coffee our senior year," Kira said. "How do you think he got everything done between school and—well, everything else?"

Jason shrugged. Tommy's phone went off and he pulled it out.

"Umm… Jason?" he asked, frowning as he looked at the text he'd just received. "Why do I have a text from Kim saying that if I don't respond she's going to kill my best friend?"

Jason groaned and the teens snickered.

"Because Hayley told her you got hurt," he muttered.

"So why would she hurt Adam?" Tommy asked.

Conner, Ethan, Trent, and Kira lost it, laughing so hard they were almost crying.

"Hey!" Jason exclaimed. "What do you mean, Adam? And she shouldn't be threatening me like that. Kim is supposed to respect me!"

Tommy just laughed, texting Kim back. The other five were snickering, though they still weren't entirely sure what was going on. And they still weren't sure what Jason had told Hayley.

"Dr. O made a joke!" Conner sputtered, literally on the floor laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jason grumbled. "You're probably going to be hearing from Kat, shortly."

"Oh, good," Tommy said. "So you're really in trouble. Oh—text from Kat. She's heading to the airport…Where is she?"

Jason frowned.

"Supposed to be on tour with her dance company," he said. "And I'm pretty sure they have a show tonight or tomorrow."

"Well, she's not going to be there," Tommy said, shaking his head.

"She's not coming here, is she?" Jason exclaimed.

"I don't know," Tommy shrugged. "She says she'll call when the plane lands…Either way you're dead."

"Great," Jason muttered. "Just what I need…I didn't do this!"

"And I don't think she cares," Tommy smirked.

"Jason," Vida interrupted. "What exactly did you tell Hayley?"

He glanced over at the Mystic Force group, all of whom were looking extremely concerned.

"I told her what happened," Jason said. "Tommy and I got caught in a monster attack, we both got hurt, and the power rangers—rescued—us. I also might have mentioned Tommy was unconscious for over twenty-four hours. That's what really set her off. She started yelling at me about not taking him to the doctor with his history of comas..."

"And that was all you told her?" Nick asked, scowling at Jason.

"Yes, rookie," Jason snapped. "Why—got something else you want me to throw in?"

Several phones going off at the same time drew everyone's attention. Jason, Tommy, Kira, Trent, Ethan, and Conner all pulled out their phones. The teens immediately burst into laughter, doubling over as they tried to stay upright.

"Great pic, Dr. O!" Ethan laughed. "Maybe better than the first one."

"That was not me," Tommy said, chuckling as he looked at the picture on his phone. "I didn't have that picture. Nice look, Jase. I don't think Kim is too happy with you."

"I can see that," Jason growled.

"What picture?" Vida asked. "Let me see."

She went around the back of Tommy's chair, leaning over to see. He hit a button on his phone so just the picture was showing. It showed Jason as a little boy. There was make-up on his face and short ponytails sticking off of his head in tufts. A smiling Kim was standing proudly in the picture with him. Vida burst out laughing.

"You have to send that to me," she said. "Please?"

"You got it," Tommy smirked as Jason sputtered in protest.

"Tommy!" he exclaimed. "You can't give things like that to my sisters!"

"Why not?" Tommy asked. "There, V. Sent."

"Because they'll try using it against me," Jason protested.

"And that's a problem because?" he said.

"You know what?" Jason muttered. "I'm going to start telling them embarrassing things about you."

Tommy raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like…" Jason paused, frowning. "There was the time we were—no…Hmm…"

He was struggling to come up with something not ranger related that he could say in front of Mystic Force.

"Ha!" Jason exclaimed. "How about the time we all crashed at Zach's house after a long day and played truth or dare? You had to go out in the yard and sing 'I'm a Little Teapot' as loud as you could."

Tommy chuckled, shaking his head.

"Bro, that was you," he said.

"Wait, what?" Jason frowned. "No it wasn't!"

"Yes it was," Tommy said. "Just ask one of the others. They'll say the same thing. Everyone made a big deal out of it because it was Billy's idea, remember?"

Jason grimaced.

"How is it that you can remember all those things?" he muttered. "But you can't keep track of your cell phone?"

"You had to sing 'I'm a Little Teapot?" Conner snorted. "This is great! Keep telling us things—cause either way we win. Doesn't matter if it's about you or Dr. O."

Tommy shot Conner a look.

"Actually, on second thought," Conner said. "Let's just stick to you, Jason."

"How on earth do you do that?" Jason asked, looking at Tommy. "I glare at them and they keep doing what they want, you glare at them and all of a sudden they're the most well behaved kids you've met."

Tommy shrugged, smirking.

"You've never been in charge of their grades," he yawned. "Works wonders when you can hold those over their heads."

His phone went off again and Tommy picked it up to see who was messaging him now.

"No kidding," Ethan muttered. "Pretty sure he still has some kind of control over them even though we're not in high school anymore. I swear he knows all of my professors…"

"Hey, Jase?" Tommy said, looking over at him. "Tanya just sent me a message…"

Jason frowned.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. "Because I thought Adam was going to call or text if they needed something at the dojo."

"Oh, there's nothing wrong at the dojo," Tommy smirked. "She said you're under strict orders to report to the dojo for a sparring session the first morning we're back. Rocky and Adam want to—well, they want to take out their irritation on you. Aisha and Tanya are all for it."

Jason groaned.

"They do realize I have a sprained ankle, right?" he asked.

"I don't think they do," Tommy said, shaking his head. "But I don't think they'd care at this point. Apparently Kim and Kat are spreading the word…Oh. Wait. There's something in here about fixing the ankle issue first."

The girls and their friends gave Tommy a weird look, but he ignored it. Taking a deep breath, Jason rubbed a hand over his face.

"Why is it always my fault?" he muttered. "Doesn't matter what I do—it's always my fault."

Kira suddenly shot her head around to look at Tommy.

"Oh!" she said. "Dr. O, can you tell Tanya I left that recording on top of the filing cabinet in the office? The guys yanked me out of the studio before I could leave her a note and I forgot to text her."

He nodded and started texting.

"Tanya?" Vida said. "As in Tanya Park?"

"Mmm hmm," Tommy said. "You did get her CD's, right? Jason said he gave them to you."

"I got them," Vida said, turning to look at Kira. "You're working with Tanya Park?"

Kira turned, smiling as she nodded.

"Yep," she said. "We're actually working on something together right now. Can't say anything about it yet because it's still in the works, but I'm sure we can get you a preview once it's done."

"That would be great!" Vida exclaimed.

Jason's phone ringing interrupted the conversation again. Sighing, he pulled it out.

"Oh, good," he grumbled. "It's Zach."

Tommy started laughing.

"All but one down," he snorted. "And the last one will call tonight I'm sure after word finally reaches him."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jason muttered, walking toward the door as he answered the phone. "Hey Zach. What's up?"

He opened the door and stepped outside.

"It wasn't a coma!" they heard him yell before the door closed.

* * *

"Rockin' sis," Madison laughed. "Smile for the camera."

Vida laughed, waving from the DJ tables. Kira waved, too, smiling as she danced with Vida. Everyone was relaxing after an enjoyable afternoon. When Jason had finally gotten people to stop calling and texting him earlier, they'd all settled in at the Rock Porium, laughing and goofing around between actual customers. Toby had popped in once or twice, voicing his surprise to see his employees actually still in the store. Madison had eventually pulled out her camera and now she was bouncing around the room, filming all of them spending time together.

"I love this," Kira grinned. "I'm gonna have to convince Hayley to install some of these in the café. Think you could teach me?"

"Of course," Vida grinned. "Anytime."

"Great," Kira said. "And how would you feel about coming to one of my concerts? You can play my music for me."

Vida looked at her in surprise. Beaming from behind her camera, Madison kept filming.

"You mean it?" Vida exclaimed.

"Completely serious," Kira said. "You're amazing. Give me your phone number before I leave and I'll make it happen."

Nodding excitedly, Vida couldn't stop smiling as she gave Kira her phone number and Kira wrote down hers.

"Speaking of leaving," Trent said, glancing at his watch. "We'd better get going. Shane and company are expecting us there for dinner—and I'm guessing it's going to have to be late."

"Oh good," Jason said. "Peace and quiet."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Conner asked, frowning.

"It means you can't annoy me anymore," Jason retorted. "Or encourage Tommy to share anymore embarrassing pictures."

Ethan snorted.

"He doesn't need any encouragement to embarrass you," he said. "Besides, I don't think he's too worried about that right now."

Jason frowned.

"What?" he said.

"Dr. O is asleep," Conner smirked. "And has been for like the past half hour—some guardian you are, Jason."

Jason turned to look at Tommy in his chair. He was asleep just like Conner said.

"Tommy!" Jason exclaimed. "Wake up!"

He shook Tommy by the shoulder. Tommy swatted at his hand, not opening his eyes.

"Five more minutes Hayley," Tommy grumbled.

Jason glared at Tommy as all of the kids snickered.

"I'm not Hayley," Jason growled. "And if you don't wake up I'm going to get a bucket of ice."

"Not allowed to," Tommy mumbled. "Not since high school…Zach dumped too much ice and shocked Jason 'wake out of a dead sleep…wet the bed…his mom was really mad…"

Jason stared at Tommy in shock, his face turning red as the kids all burst out in laughter again. Tommy jerked up at the sudden roar of laughter, wincing and looking around in confusion.

"Your face is as red as your su—shirt, Jason" Conner sputtered.

Growling, Jason rounded on Conner. He darted away, still laughing.

"And on that note," Ethan snickered. "We should run now."

Kira rolled her eyes, nodding as she tried not to laugh too hard. Tommy was looking around, trying to figure out what was so funny. Ethan, Conner, Kira, and Trent started heading for the door.

"See you later, Dr. O," Trent grinned. "We'll be back in Reefside in a week or so."

"Have fun guys!" Conner smirked, waving at the other five kids. "Good luck, rookie."

Nick, who'd been getting more and more irritated by Conner calling him rookie as the afternoon wore on, finally snapped.

"Would you stop that?" he snapped, stalking over to Conner. "Why do you keep calling me rookie?"

Conner looked at him in surprise.

"What would you rather me call you, kid?" he asked. "Rube?"

"No!" Nick shouted, now getting in Conner's face. "My name is Nick. And don't call me kid, either. I'm older than you by at least a year—you've got no right to be so disrespectful."

Conner didn't back down, crossing his arms as he glared back at Nick.

"Back off," he snapped. "All your attitude does is prove just how much a rookie you are—cause you've got no idea what you're saying."

"You don't scare me," Nick growled. "You want to call me rookie? Prove you've got a right to."

Chip and Xander had moved to stand next to Nick, ready to back him up if things went too far. Madison and Vida hovered just behind them. Ethan, Kira, and Trent were all standing behind Conner, glaring at Nick. Jason and Tommy were watching to make sure nothing happened that shouldn't.

"Prove my right?" Conner snorted. "I've already done that."

"I don't see any proof," Nick scoffed. "All I've gotten is a lot of meaningless words. Can't back up what you say?"

"No need to," Conner said, not rising to the bait. "Again—I've already proven myself. Now it's your turn."

"You've proven nothing!" Nick snapped.

Tommy, deciding enough was enough, pushed himself up out of the chair and placed himself between Nick and Conner.

"Enough," he said. "You four—go. You're going to be late visiting with your psychos. And you five—learn to be less sensitive."

He glared at Nick as he said that. Conner had immediately backed down, all four of them relaxing and taking a step back.

"It's just a name," Tommy continued. "He didn't actually hurt you, so get over it."

Nick glowered at him, but didn't argue back. Tommy looked at the four expectantly. Smirking, they turned to grab their things and head for the door. Yawning, Tommy returned to his chair.

"Oh, wait," he said, catching their attention before they got outside. "Ethan—delete that video."

He settled back into his seat, watching them.

"Why?" Ethan asked, making no move to pull out his phone.

Tommy smirked and pulled his own out.

"Because," he said, pulling something up on his phone. "If you don't, I'll send this to everyone. And I mean everyone."

The four frowned in confusion. But a moment later all four of their phones went off. They pulled them out, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Delete it!" they exclaimed, looking at Ethan.

"Hurry!" Kira snapped.

"I'm deleting!" Ethan cried.

Tommy smirked as everyone else looked at them in surprise.

"Ok, what did you just send them, bro?" Jason asked, looking at Tommy.

He leaned over and Tommy showed him the picture on his phone. Jason started laughing. It was a picture of Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent. They were all passed out down in the Dino lab, clearly exhausted. But what made Jason laugh was the positions they were sleeping in. They'd all fallen asleep on a blow-up mattress Tommy had stored down there for emergencies. Conner was sprawled out on his back, taking up a good portion of the small mattress as his mouth hung open. Next to him, Ethan was sleeping on his stomach, one arm thrown over Conner. Their legs were draped over Kira who, sleeping at the end of the mattress, was hugging the only pillow, her head on Trent's chest. Facing the opposite direction of the other two boys, his feet were up by Conner's face.

"When did you take that?" Jason grinned.

"Mmm…" Tommy said, frowning. "I think that was during the first week after Trent joined us. Right guys?"

He smirked at them as they glared back.

"In our defense," Kira said. "It had been a really long day…"

"Yeah, still funny," Jason laughed. "You need to send that to me, bro."

He took another look at the picture before handing the phone back to Tommy.

"Nope," Tommy said, shaking his head as Jason grumbled in disappointment.

Chip, who wanted to see what had gotten that reaction out of all four of Tommy's students, scooted around behind Tommy's chair to take a look. Hearing him, Tommy quickly locked his screen effectively hiding the picture.

"Aww… Why can't I see the picture?" Chip asked.

Kira, Conner, Ethan, and Trent exchanged looks. They knew why—Chip couldn't see the picture because it was in the lab. And that would raise a lot of questions that Jason and Tommy didn't want the Mystic Force team knowing the answers to yet.

"Because," Tommy answered. "If I show it to you I can't use it for blackmail later."

Chip frowned.

"But you showed it to Jason," he said.

"Yeah, but I've got enough on him that he won't tell anyone," Tommy smirked. "Right, Jase?"

Jason just shot a glare at him. Ethan walked over to Tommy.

"Here, Dr. O," he said. "I deleted it. Happy?"

"Yep," Tommy said, getting comfortable again. "Remember though—if that shows up anywhere, so does the picture."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ethan muttered, heading back toward the door. "No promises if Hayley decided to steal it off my phone before I deleted it."

Tommy shook his head.

"Nah," he said. "I don't think she's expecting to get that video. Besides, if she really wanted any she would have just hacked the building's security system. There are cameras in here."

The four laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Bye, Dr.O," they called, heading toward the door again.

"We're still telling the nin—everyone in Blue Bay that you called them psychos again," Conner grinned.

Tommy just shrugged.

"Oh, but make sure you tell Cam he's the exception," he said.

"Oh, that's going to go well," Kira snorted, pulling the door opened. "We are not responsible for the consequences of that."

They piled out the door and Jason turned to look at Tommy.

"And now the psychos are going to blow up Blue Bay Harbor," he said, shaking his head. "Great job."

Tommy yawned again, shaking his head.

"They won't blow up the city," he muttered. "The academy? Maybe. But they city will be fine. They spend too much time in the woods to have to worry about that. Not that 'blow up' is really the correct term…"

Jason rolled his eyes as Tommy chuckled.

"Get up, Falcon," Jason said, getting to his own feet. "Time to go."

"Go where?" Tommy frowned.

"Dinner," Jason said, reaching down to help him up. "I need to get you food before Hayley realizes you haven't eaten anything since Sunday morning."

Tommy started laughing, as he realized just how ticked Hayley was going to be at Jason once she found out.

"Nick, what were you thinking?" Vida asked, shooting him a look. "And after everything Daggeron and Udonna just told us about not escalating things. You two were practically ready to exchange blows."

They five Mystic Force rangers were on their way back to Rootcore. As soon as Jason and Tommy were gone, they'd excused themselves and headed into the forest. Nick was still fuming about Conner and their blow-up.

"He was out of line," Nick fumed. "That kid should show way more respect."

"He doesn't know," Madison said soothingly, walking next to him. "And that's the way it has to be. Tommy's right. We just need to let these things go."

"Besides," Xander said. "We can't just go around fighting with civilians. You could have really hurt him in a fight."

Nick scoffed.

"It barely would have been a fight," he said. "I doubt he'd last a minute—even if I wasn't a power ranger."

Vida rolled her eyes.

"Still wish I could have seen that picture," Chip muttered. "Tommy had all four of them flipping out over it."

"He did hide it awfully fast," Vida agreed. "Must have been something really good for him to want to keep it that secret."

The others shrugged, falling silent as they kept walking.

"Did anyone else think Tommy's students were a little weird?" Chip asked a moment later.

"Weird how?" Xander said.

"Sometimes it seemed like they were about to say something, but said something else instead," Chip answered. "Or like they were talking in code. Like what's a 'reds list'?"

"No clue," Nick muttered.

"They did seem to know Tommy awfully well for just being his students," Xander said. "Do you know anything about them?"

He looked at Madison and Vida. They shook their heads.

"We've never met them before," Vida said as they approached the entrance to Rootcore. "And Tommy's never really said anything about them on the phone or anything."

"Oh!" Madison exclaimed. "I just remembered. It was a couple of years ago, so it would have fallen during their senior year. Remember Tommy saying he had a couple of research assistants over when we called and heard arguing in the background. It could have been them."

"And that would explain why they know so much about him," Vida said. "And they were probably the ones he had to rush back to Reefside for, too. That visit after his hospital stay?"

Madison nodded in agreement.

"I still don't like them," Nick muttered as they walked into the main room.

"Well, that's because Conner kept calling you rookie," Chip laughed.

"Guys, we have something more important to worry about now," Madison interrupted. "I want to ask Udonna about Tommy. I don't think he's supposed to be so tired still…"

The other four nodded in agreement. They found Udonna working with Clare on a potion.

"Udonna, do you have a minute?" Madison asked.

"What is it, Madison?" said Udonna, glancing up.

"It's about Tommy," Vida said.

Udonna frowned.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

The five exchanged looks.

"We don't know," Madison admitted. "He's awake now, but he's still really sleepy. Jason was having trouble keeping him from passing back out all day today… Is that supposed to happen?"

Shaking her head, Udonna turned to Clare.

"Clare, what spell did you attempt to cast on Tommy?" she said. "I need to know every detail of what you did."

As the rangers listened, Clare explained to Udonna, earnestly trying to explain that nothing she had done should have been harmful. Udonna nodded, frowning as she listened.

"There is nothing in that spell that should be affecting Tommy like this," she finally said, turning back to the rangers. "Madison, Vida—is there a chance Tommy could have been exposed to magic before?"

They both shrugged.

"If he was, they didn't tell us," Vida said.

"Though there's always a chance," Madison said softly. "A lot of things happened in Angel Grove. Maybe Tommy and Jason got caught in one of the attacks and didn't tell anyone…"

"Maybe…" Vida said slowly. "I mean, they did end up in the E.R. for fighting those machine things that one time…"

"It would help if I could examine Tommy myself," Udonna said. "Do you think the five of you could bring him back here?"

They all started shaking their heads.

"Jason was adamant about not letting Tommy come back here," Chip said. "And I have a feeling Tommy is going to agree with him."

"Yeah," Vida said. "They aren't coming back…"

Udonna sighed.

"Then you will just have to keep an eye on him," she said. "If things become dire, inform me at once."

"We will," Madison assured her.

Udonna nodded.

"And I assume you spoke with both Tommy and Jason about keeping your secret, correct?" she asked.

"Well, sort of…" Xander answered. "We talked to Jason—"

"But we haven't had the chance to talk to Tommy," Nick said. "We never got a chance to be alone with them today."

"But we will, don't worry," Chip said quickly.

"Besides," Vida said. "Tommy would never out us like that."

"We'll still talk to him," Madison said when Udonna raised an eyebrow.

Satisfied by their word, she went back to instructing Clare. The rangers headed out to the balcony to relax for a while, grabbing a few spell books on the way.

"So, question," Nick said after a little while.

The other four looked up at him.

"What is with your brother's friends?" he asked.

"What about them?" Vida asked, frowning.

"All of them freaking out so much about Tommy getting hurt," Nick said. "It's not like that stuff doesn't happen almost every day here. People get hurt."

The girls sighed.

"Jason and his friends have always been close," Madison said. "For as long as we can remember…They were always in and out of the house in high school. We were still little then, so we didn't know them very well, but they were always together."

"And they got even closer after Billy died," Vida sighed, sharing a sad look with her sister.

Madison nodded. Chip and Xander frowned.

"Remember Billy?" Vida asked. "He was super smart and always making fun things for us to play with?"

"Oh!" Chip exclaimed. "I remember him…he disappeared when we were ten, right?"

The girls nodded.

"He did," Madison said softly. "And they never found him…It hit Jason and his friends hard. They don't even talk about him anymore."

"Guess that explains why they're so protective of each other," Nick said slowly. "Or at least it makes more sense."

"Yeah," Vida said. "And the worst part is that there really wasn't much to go on for looking for him…I think they eventually blamed it on one of the monsters attacking the city. Wasn't uncommon at the time…Just like now…"

The room fell silent for a little while.

"Alright, time to call it a night," Nick said some time later as he stood and stretched. "I can't concentrate anymore anyways."

As the others chorused agreements, the rangers put their books away and headed out for the night.

* * *

"I'm fine, Billy, really," Tommy yawned. "Everyone is just being paranoid. I'm just tired…"

Jason and Tommy were back in their hotel room. Tommy was stretched out in his bed, his eyes closed as he talked to Billy on the phone. Jason was sitting on his own bed, his ankle propped up again. He'd worn a brace on it all day, but it was still killing him.

"_Tommy, why don't you go to sleep?" _Billy asked. _"It is clear even from here that you are struggling to stay awake. Perhaps it is best that you allow yourself to rest."_

"Cause Jase won't let me," he mumbled. "He's been keeping me up all day. Even gave me an energy drink at dinner. Worked for about an hour…"

Billy sighed.

"_Let me talk to Jason," _Billy said. _"Maybe I can persuade him. I really do think it will be best for you to sleep…"_

"K…" Tommy sighed. "Bye, Billy."

Yawning again, he rolled over and tossed the phone to Jason.

"Billy wants to talk to you," he said.

Jason caught the phone, shaking his head.

"Hey, Billy," he said. "What's up?"

"_Jason, why haven't you allowed Tommy to sleep?" _Billy asked.

"Billy, he slept for over twenty-four hours!" Jason exclaimed. "If I let him go back to sleep he might not wake up."

"_Jason, I too am concerned," _he said. _"But most likely he simply needs to get it out of his system. You probably should have let him sleep most of the day today as well."_

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" Jason grumbled, glancing over at Tommy.

"_Because you didn't call me earlier," _Billy said patiently.

"Yeah, well, I was trying to avoid everyone having a meltdown about the magic," Jason muttered. "Did Tommy tell you Kat is missing a performance tonight to fly back to Angel Grove? And she's says she's not going back until she gets to see Tommy in person. I'm pretty sure they're all planning on killing me when we get back…"

Billy chuckled.

"_I do not believe they'll carry that threat through," _he said. _"They are simply concerned about Tommy's welfare. This incident is a reminder to all of us of how things were in high school…None of us want to experience that again, or even what occurred during your college years. Tommy's struggle with magic is something to be concerned about."_

"Tell me about it," Jason sighed, running a hand over his head. "I'd fight him if I had to, but I don't want to have to hurt him…It was hard enough to deal with the last time. I don't know how I'd do it again—and, thanks to that stupid promise, I won't have a choice this time…"

"_He'll be fine, Jason," _Billy said. _"Let him sleep it off and he'll be back to normal."_

"Yeah, you're probably right," Jason said. "You usually are. Anyways, I'll talk to you later. Gotta make sure he calls Hayley before he falls asleep or I really will be dead."

Billy laughed again.

"_Good luck," _he said. _"And I will speak with you again soon."_

"Bye," Jason said.

Hanging up, he got out of bed and walked back over to Tommy.

"Come on, Falcon," he said. "Can't sleep yet."

"But Billy said I could," Tommy groaned.

"Not until you call Hayley," Jason insisted, holding out Tommy's phone. "Once you talk to her you can go to sleep."

Sighing, Tommy forced his eyes open and took the phone. Jason went back to his bed. Hitting the speed dial for Hayley, Tommy put the phone back to his ear. She answered on the second ring.

"Hi, Hayley," Tommy mumbled.

"_Hi, sweetheart," _Hayley said. _"How are you feeling?"_

"Tired…" he sighed. "Billy told Jason to let me sleep…"

"_Well, Billy is right," _Hayley said. _"You sound like you need it. Did you eat something?"_

"Mmm hmm…" Tommy yawned. "Jason made me… really not hungry today…"

"_Good," _said Hayley, gently scolding him. _"You need to eat."_

"Yeah, I know…" said Tommy, yawning again.

Hayley sighed.

"_Tommy, go to sleep," _she said softly.

"K…" he mumbled. "Love you…"

"_I love you, too," _she said.

Jason glanced back over the see the phone slip out of Tommy's hand as he passed out again. Sighing, he stood up. Limping over to Tommy's bed again, Jason reached over and grabbed the phone. Hayley had already hung up, so he set it on the bedside table. He took Tommy's glasses off, setting them in the same place before heading back to his own bed.

* * *

The next morning Jason let Tommy sleep. He finally woke up mid-morning, grimacing and putting a hand to his head as he sat up.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Jason grinned. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Like I stuck my head in a blender," Tommy muttered, leaning forward with his head in his hands. "Think I'd rather go back to being half-asleep—or unconscious."

Jason frowned.

"You ok, bro?" he asked.

Tommy shook his head, grimacing again at the movement. That really concerned Jason. It wasn't often that Tommy admitted he didn't feel good. And it would be even worse if it wasn't just his head or ribs bothering him.

"Maybe we should just stay here today," Jason suggested. "The girls will understand."

"No," Tommy said shortly, swinging his feet around to the floor. "I said I needed to talk to Nick and I'm not going to keep putting it off. And I don't want to worry the girls anymore than I have to…"

Jason sighed and nodded, knowing that arguing with Tommy was pointless. Standing up, Tommy winced again but headed toward the bathroom to get dressed.

When they got to the Rock Porium a little while later, the kids were already there.

"Tommy!" Madison exclaimed, smiling. "You're awake—you are really awake, right?"

Smiling faintly, he nodded as she and Vida hurried over to hug him.

"Yeah, I'm up," he said.

"That's great," Vida beamed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Tommy said, hugging them back.

"Hey V!" Xander called from the counter. "Can you check for a CD for me?"

"Sure," she said, spinning to help him.

Madison also turned away to help a customer. Tommy glanced around the room. Spotting Nick straightening up some CD's on the far side of the room, he headed in that direction. Jason stayed where he was, leaning against the wall.

"We need to talk," Tommy said, walking up to Nick.

Nick looked up at him in surprise.

"You're right," he said, setting down what he was holding. "We do. Over here."

He jerked his head toward the far corner of the store. There weren't any customers over there to overhear them. Tommy just shrugged and followed him.

"Alright," Nick said, turning to face Tommy and crossing his arms. "We need you to—"

Tommy held up his hand to stop him.

"Not what I want to talk about," he said shortly. "I just want to get a few things straight with you."

Nick frowned.

"First of all, I know about everything that happened the day Maddy got turned into stone," Tommy said quietly. "Jason doesn't—be grateful for that."

"Maddy and I worked it out," Nick said, shaking his head. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Listen, rookie," Tommy said. "I'm giving you a chance—"

"Yeah, whatever," Nick snapped. "All I care about right now is you keeping our sec—"

"Don't interrupt," Tommy interrupted, scowling at Nick. "I'm not done. Right now I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I will reserve judgment until I've seen what you can do."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Nick scoffed.

"Exactly what I just said," Tommy answered, crossing his arms. "Until you give me a reason otherwise, I will have no problem with you. But believe me when I say this."

Tommy took a step closer to Nick, looking him straight in the eye as he loomed over him.

"If you hurt either of those girls," he said softly. "Not only will I let Jason do whatever he wants to you, you'll have to deal with me."

A green light flashed in Tommy's eyes and Nick took an involuntary step back. This was a Tommy he hadn't seen before—one that looked dangerous enough to carry out the threat. But Tommy stepped back, taking a deep breath and spinning. He stalked away from Nick, who watched him go in shock. Sighing, Tommy dropped down in the chair he'd been in the day before, rubbing a hand across his face.

"Tommy, are you sure you're alright?" Madison asked, perching on the arm of the chair next to him.

"I'll be fine, Maddy," he said, looking up at her. "I promise. It's just a headache."

Madison glanced over at Vida. Catching her sister's look, Vida strolled over to join them. Jason was frowning as he watched Tommy.

"Tommy, you don't look alright," Madison said, shaking her head.

"Maddy's right," Vida agreed. "You look worse than you did yesterday."

"Maybe…" Madison started hesitantly.

Vida nodded encouragingly.

"Maybe you should come back to Rootcore with us," Madison said quietly. "Udonna should make sure nothing went wrong with the spell… she says it shouldn't still be affecting you…"

Tommy shook his head.

"No," he said.

"Tommy, please," Vida pleaded. "I know you say you don't like magic, but—"

"It's not happening," he said, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a moment.

"Tommy—" Madison started.

"No!" Tommy snapped, standing abruptly. "Now stop talking about it!"

The girls looked at him in surprise. Grimacing, he ran a hand through his hair.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I—I just need to get some air."

Spinning, he headed toward the door.

"Tommy," Jason said, frowning as he straightened up. "I don't think—"

Tommy shot a glare at him that said arguing would be a bad idea.

"Alright," said Jason. "Just make sure you have your phone and keep an eye on your watch."

"Yeah," Tommy said shortly, stalking out the door.

It closed behind him, leaving the five Mystic Rangers staring after him in surprise. Nick jerked his head at the others and they all gathered around him.

"We need to go back to Rootcore," he said. "I think something is seriously wrong with him."

"What do you mean?" Vida frowned.

Nick shook his head, glancing over at Jason.

"Not here," he said. "I don't want to deal with your brother. If something is wrong, he'll just blame it on Clare. So let's get out of here."

They nodded.

"And what is this?" Toby said sarcastically behind them. "Are my employees actually working?"

"Hey Toby," Xander said, turning around. "Gotta run!"

Waving goodbye to Toby, the five darted out of the shop. Toby shook his head, muttering under his breath as he turned away. The door opened back up and Vida poked her head inside.

"We'll be back, Jason," she said. "Bye big brother!"

With that they were gone. Jason sighed.

"Well, might as well go find something to eat…" he muttered to himself, heading out the door as well. "For me and Tommy…"

* * *

The rangers rushed to get to Rootcore. Nick was refusing to say anything until they got there. Udonna looked up in surprise when they came in—she hadn't been expecting to see them until that evening unless an emergency came up.

"Rangers," she said, frowning. "Is something wrong?"

"Nick thinks something is wrong with Tommy," Madison said.

Udonna looked at Nick expectantly.

"I saw something at the shop a little while ago," he said. "Something not normal."

"What?" Vida exclaimed impatiently.

Nick took a deep breath.

"We were talking about—" he started. "Well, the what isn't important. But he threatened me and I saw his eyes flash green. Like bright green."

Udonna frowned as the other rangers exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"How is that possible?" Xander said. "It was just a healing spell."

"Xander is right," Udonna said. "There should be no side-effects."

"I know what I saw," Nick insisted. "His eyes were green."

"Could Koragg have done something to him on the mountain?" Vida asked, looking at Chip. "You and Daggeron did lose him for a while…"

"It is possible," Daggeron said, joining them.

He'd overheard the last part of the conversation.

"Though I cannot see a purpose to Koragg's actions if he is responsible," he continued. "Tommy is no threat to the Master—nor could he serve as a strong opponent should they seek to set him against us."

"But would the rangers be able to harm him should Koragg place him in the way?" Udonna said softly.

Vida and Madison started shaking their heads.

"I don't know," Madison said, biting her lip.

"We're both ready to do what we have to," Vida said. "To sacrifice ourselves if it becomes necessary. But I don't know if I could sacrifice Tommy… He's just as much a brother as Jason is…"

"Then we need to make sure he is not under the control of an evil spell," Udonna said. "You will have to bring him here—whether it is his will or no."

The kids nodded.

"First thing tomorrow," Nick said.

"We'll have to separate him from Jason," Xander said.

"Xander's right," Chip agreed. "Jason will never let us bring Tommy here. So the question is—how do we separate them?"

As the kids sat down to make a plan, Daggeron and Udonna left to see if they could figure out what might have been done to Tommy.

"Well, someone is going to have to distract Jason," Xander said.

"And someone is going to have to get Tommy away from him," Chip added. "Oh wait! I've got an idea!"

The other four looked at him in surprise.

"Ok…" Nick said slowly. "What is it?"

"When they come into the shop tomorrow," Chip said. "Someone crack Jason over the head with something heavy. Then we grab Tommy and run before Jason recovers."

Everyone stared at him in surprise.

"What?" he said. "I said I had a plan. I never said it was a good one…"

Nick shook his head.

"Let's try a real plan now," he said.

"Right," Xander agreed.

"Maddy? V?" Nick said. "Think you two can take the lead on this?"

They exchanged looks and then nodded at Nick.

"What are you thinking?" Madison asked.

"Here's the plan," Nick said. "Tomorrow when they come into the shop to find you, we'll suggest eating lunch at the shop. Maddy, you'll need to convince Tommy to go to get food with you."

"I can do that," she said.

"V," Nick continued. "You and Chip will be in charge of keeping Jason distracted at the shop so Xander and I can slip out after Maddy and Tommy."

"And how is this getting Tommy here?" Xander asked, frowning.

"I know where this is going," Chip grinned. "While V and I distract Jason, you two take off after Maddy and Tommy. Between the three of you it shouldn't be too hard to get Tommy into the woods."

"Umm… I don't know about that," Vida said doubtfully. "I think you're underestimating how strong Tommy is."

"Well, do you have another suggestion?" Nick asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair.

"No," she muttered.

"We'll use our wands if we have to," Nick said. "But we've got to get him here one way or another."

"But what about us?" Chip asked. "How long are we supposed to distract Jason?"

"Just long enough to let us get away with Tommy," Nick answered. "Then excuse yourselves and meet us back here."

"Can do," Chip grinned.

"So are we all on the same page?" Nick asked, looking around.

All of the rangers nodded.

"Good," he said. "Then let's head home—tomorrow is going to be a long day…"

* * *

"Sis, you've got to stop pacing," Madison sighed. "Or they're going to know something is up the minute they walk in here."

All five of the rangers were waiting rather impatiently for Tommy and Jason to show up. They hadn't heard anything from them since the previous afternoon when Tommy had stormed out. While the rest of them had found something to distract themselves, Vida couldn't sit still. She and Madison had been up most of the night, unable to sleep due to nerves over what they were planning on doing.

"I know," Vida sighed, dropping into an empty chair. "But I hate having to do this… Tommy is going to hate us after this…"

"I hope not," Madison said softly.

"I'm sorry," Nick said. "But we've gotta do it. We can't risk Koragg or anyone else using Tommy against us—all of you would hesitate to strike if he was in the way."

"Are you saying you wouldn't?" Vida frowned.

Nick groaned.

"No," he said. "It's not that. It's just—"

The door burst open and Tommy came running inside.

"Maddy! V!" he exclaimed, waving at them to follow. "If you want to say goodbye to Jason you have to come now."

They exchanged confused glances, but stood up.

"What do you mean?" Madison asked.

"Hurry," Tommy urged, holding the door open. "I barely got him to stop and let me out to tell you—and if we take too long he may leave without me."

They rushed after him as he took off back out the door.

"What is going on?" Vida asked as they caught up.

"It's Trini," Tommy said, not pausing. "She's not due for another week and a half, but we got a call about twenty minutes ago—she's in labor."

Both girls gasped, moving faster.

"And you're letting him drive?" Madison exclaimed.

"He has to," Tommy said as they approached the car. "I took my pain meds this morning before we got the call—can't drive on them."

"Oh, good," Vida muttered.

Jason was waiting impatiently in the car, looking at his watch. Tommy gave the girls hugs and climbed into the car. Vida and Madison crowded the driver's side door to give Jason hugs.

"Drive carefully," Madison said. "And call us later with an update."

"I will," Jason said, hugging them both tightly. "Take care of yourselves."

"We will," they chorused.

They stepped and he closed the door. He didn't take off right away, giving them a chance to move back on to the sidewalk.

"If you don't hear from us tonight, call," Tommy said, waving as they pulled out. "We're probably on the side of the road somewhere."

The girls exchanged looks as Jason took off down the road.

"Was he serious?" Vida asked.

"I have no idea," Madison answered, shaking her head.

Nick, Xander, and Chip came running up behind them.

"Where's Tommy?" Nick asked.

"They had to leave," Vida said. "Trini is in labor."

Nick groaned.

"The spell, remember?" he exclaimed. "We were supposed to take him back to Udonna."

"Oh no!" Madison cried. "We completely forgot…"

She and Vida exchanged horrified glances.

"Now what?" Chip asked. "If Tommy is really under a spell…"

"Then we're in serious trouble," Xander muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Madison said, looking at Vida. "If he's under a spell Tommy could really hurt someone."

"We can call Hayley," Vida suggested. "Ask her to keep an eye out for anything unusual."

"And just how do you plan on doing that without giving anything away?" Nick asked, crossing his arms.

"Tell her we think he might have a concussion," Vida said. "And just to keep an eye out and call us if anything does seem wrong."

Madison shook her head.

"She'd just take him to the doctor," she said ruefully.

"Well we have to warn her somehow," Vida protested. "It would kill Tommy if he hurt her—or anyone else for that matter…"

"I know…" Madison sighed.

"You two will just have to call and check up on him," Nick said. "And hope those green eyes were nothing too serious."

Sighing, the girls nodded as the group turned to head back inside

* * *

Ice T: Thanks for your opinion I do agree we went out on a limb with Jason's personality, however we will have to agree to disagree on whether of not its to much. Both hazergirl1220 and i felt that as he would act like this is his family was in danger. I am sorry if you don't agree but we will take it into consideration for next time to watch the personalities more. If it really bothers you that much you might want to stop reading because it is going to get worse before it gets better. We don't skip the reaction with Mystic mother, but it isn't till the end and probably not how you expect it to happen (I will tell you now it's good though.) :) I hope you will keep reading and give it a shot but Jason is who he his the story is totally finished and we won't be changing anything major or it will be another year or so before it gets done. I don't think anyone wants to wait that long! :) Thanks again.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Goodbye Party**_

"_Who are you?" Vida asked, standing with the front door open._

_She had answered the door to see three people she didn't recognize. There were two boys and a girl looking back at her, seeming slightly surprised by the question._

"_I'm Aisha," the girl said. "This is Adam and Rocky. We're some of your brother's friends."_

"_I've never seen you before," said Vida, not budging from the doorway. "Why haven't you ever come over?"_

_Aisha hesitated, glancing at Rocky and Adam. _

"_Out of the way, kiddo," Jason said, walking up behind his sister. "Hey guys. Ignore the kid. Come on in."_

_Reaching the doorway, he reached over and put a hand in Vida's face, pushing her out of the way as she protested. _

"_Jason!" Aisha exclaimed in surprise as the three stepped inside. _

"_What?" he said. "Agh!"_

_Vida, glaring at him, had just kicked Jason in the ankle._

"_V!" he said. _

"_You deserved it," she said, crossing her arms. "And I'm telling mom."_

_Jason glared at her._

"_Mom said you're supposed to leave me and my friends alone," Jason retorted. "So she's just going to tell you to stay away."_

_Vida stuck her tongue out at him in response as Tommy came walking down the hallway with Madison bouncing along next to him. _

"_Hey guys," he grinned. "Just ignore them. They're always like that."_

"_Yep," Madison agreed, nodding. "Always."_

"_We are not!" Vida and Jason protested. _

_Everyone else started laughing._

"_Oh, shut up," Jason muttered. "Come on, guys. Everyone else is in the basement."_

_All of the rangers were at Jason's house for a goodbye party. Jason, Trini, and Zach would be leaving that weekend for the Peace Conference. So they were all taking advantage of the opportunity to hang out before the three left._

"_You two look a lot alike," Rocky said, frowning as he looked at Madison and Vida._

"_They're twins, Rocky," Jason said, shaking his head. _

"_Oh," Rocky said sheepishly as Tommy, Aisha, and Adam laughed. _

_Vida and Madison exchanged looks, rolling their eyes. _

"_Come on, man," Adam said, putting a hand on Rocky's shoulder. "Let's go see what there is to eat. You were complaining the whole way here that you were hungry."_

"_Well, I am," Rocky protested. _

"_Rocky, you're always hungry," Aisha sighed._

_The other three boys snickered. _

"_You're gonna have your hands full, bro," Jason grinned, elbowing Tommy. _

"_Full of what?" Chip asked, popping up behind them. _

_Xander was with him and they were both looking at Aisha, Adam, and Rocky. _

"_Full of trouble," Jason laughed as Tommy elbowed him back. "And none of it's mine."_

_Tommy glared at him. _

"_No, because you're taking off on me," he retorted. "Just had to decide to spend your last year of high school away from home, didn't you?"_

_Jason shrugged, still grinning. He knew Tommy was teasing. They had argued about Jason going at first because Tommy wasn't sure he wanted to lead the rangers on his own. But he had come around. The twins, on the other hand, still weren't happy about their brother leaving._

"_You should stay home," Madison said, looking up at Jason. "I don't want you to leave."_

"_Me either," Vida agreed. _

"_Sorry, kiddos," Jason said, reaching out to ruffle both of their hair. "But I'm going. Don't worry, I'll come home eventually. Who knows? Maybe I'll be back sooner than you think since Tommy can't seem to stay out of trouble."_

_Tommy glared at him._

"_You get into just as much trouble as I do, bro," he growled back. "How many times have I had to save your butt?"_

"_Probably just as many times as I've saved yours," Jason countered._

"_And this is what we have to look forward to?" Rocky asked, looking at Tommy. "Constantly saving you?"_

"_Certainly not my plan," Tommy grumbled. "It's not my fault I seem to attract everyone's attention…"_

"_Sure, bro," Jason snorted. "Like you've never made yourself a target."_

_Tommy glared at him again. The eight-year-old twins exchanged looks with each other and their friends._

"_Big brother, you are weird," Vida announced. "And so are your friends. Why don't you ever make sense? You confuse me…"_

"_That's what big brothers are for," he grinned. "Now get out of here. This party is just for me and my friends."_

_Sticking their tongues out, the girls grabbed Xander and Chip and took off down the hall. _

"_Well, they're certainly a handful, aren't they?" Aisha said, smiling as she watched them go._

"_You have no idea," Jason grumbled._

_The group headed down the stairs to join the others. _

"_So are they rangers in training, then?" Rocky grinned. "Because I have a feeling they wouldn't let the bad guys push them around."_

_Jason growled at him._

"_Never," he snapped. "They are never putting themselves in danger like that if I have anything to say about it."_

"_Relax, Jase," Tommy said, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Let's have fun before you have to leave—or before Rita decides to start throwing more monsters at us and interrupts the party."_

_Shooting one last glare at Rocky, Jason nodded and they continued down to join the rest of their friends. _

* * *

"Guys, I'm really starting to worry," Vida sighed, setting down her book. "Jason and Tommy left the day before yesterday and we still haven't heard anything…"

They were all at Rootcore, trying to get some studying done before work. But Vida was having trouble concentrating, as was Madison.

"Maybe we should just call them," Madison suggested, setting her own book aside. "I know they said they'd call with an update—but what if something happened?"

"Then call them," Nick said. "We need to make sure Tommy isn't still under a spell anyways."

The girls nodded. Madison reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

"I'll try Tommy first," she said. "Jason might just be busy with the new baby and I don't want to bug him if we don't have to…"

Dialing Tommy's number, she put the phone to her ear. The other rangers had set aside their study materials, no longer able to concentrate. After a few rings, Tommy picked up.

"_Hello?" _he mumbled, sounding half asleep.

Madison's eyes widened in concern. It was really late in the morning for Tommy to still be sleeping.

"Tommy?" she said. "It's Maddy…"

"_Maddy?" _he repeated, and she could hear him shifting.

"Yeah," she said. "Were you sleeping?"

"_Uh-huh," _he yawned. _"Finally getting to bed…After we got back I spent over fourteen hours at the hospital with Jason pacing around the waiting room. Wouldn't let me sleep… Then things got a little crazy with everyone wanting to see the baby and me and—long story short I just got home a few hours ago and haven't had more than an hour or two of sleep since I left Briarwood…"_

"Sorry," Madison said apologetically. "I wasn't trying to wake you up…"

"_It's fine," _Tommy said. _"What's wrong? Is there an emergency?"_

"No," Madison said slowly.

"_Good," _said Tommy. _"Then I'm going back to bed. I'll talk to you later. Love you. Bye."_

"Bye," Madison echoed as he hung up the phone.

The others were looking at her expectantly. She shrugged.

"I think he's ok," she said. "He's home."

"Guess I'll try Jason then," Vida said, pulling out her own phone.

It took Jason a little longer to answer than Tommy.

"_Hello?" _he answered distractedly.

"Hey big brother," Vida said.

"_V?" _Jason said. _"Oh no. I didn't—I forgot to call you, didn't I? I'm so sorry… Mom knows—what?"_

In the background Vida could heard Trini scolding Jason.

"_Well it's not my fault!" _he protested. _"Do you realize just how many people I've had to call over the past two days? It's a lot to keep track of. And that's after waiting around the hospital for fourteen hours—Ok. I did not mean that the way it sounded—Trini, do not throw that at me."_

Vida snickered as she heard a loud bang through the phone.

"_Sorry, V," _Jason said quickly. _"We had a girl. Her name is Rose. Gotta go. Love you bye!"_

He hung up and Vida started laughing harder.

"What's so funny?" Chip asked.

"Well, the baby's name is Rose," Vida said. "And Jason is in some serious trouble with Trini right now."

"Oh," Madison said, trying not to laugh.

But after Vida started repeating the conversation, all of them were laughing.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Break-up**_

"_I'm bored," Vida grumbled, sprawling backward on the couch. _

_Madison glanced up at her sister, keeping a finger on her place in her book. The nine-year-old twins were supposed to be doing homework, but Vida had gotten bored reading the textbook and stopped working on it. _

"_Well, if you get your homework done, maybe mom will let us go play with Chip and Xander," Madison said. "How much do you have left to read?"_

"_Like half the chapter," Vida sighed, rolling over to face her. "Why can't they make homework fun?"_

_Madison rolled her eyes, closing her own book._

"_I'm finished," she said. "So I'm waiting on you."_

"_So you'll tell me what the rest of the chapter was about then?" Vida grinned._

_Sighing, Madison relented._

"_Fine," she agreed. "But only because I don't want to sit around her anymore either. But you tell mom nothing."_

"_Well of course," Vida said quickly, bouncing off the couch. "Let's go tell her we're done and see if we can go down the street."_

_Putting her book away, Madison jumped up and followed her sister toward the kitchen. Mrs. Rocca was sitting at the dining room table talking with Mrs. Oliver. Hearing the two women say something about Tommy, the girls both quietly poked their heads around the corner to listen. _

"_He has been really depressed lately, hasn't he?" Mrs. Oliver sighed. "I've tried talking to him, but he won't say anything. The only reason I found out was because he left the letter mixed into some of his homework that I was going over… He wasn't happy that I found it."_

_Mrs. Rocca shook her head._

"_I still can't believe Kimberly," she said. "To break up with him in a letter. I never thought she'd do something like that…"_

_Mrs. Oliver nodded in agreement. Madison and Vida exchanged surprised looks._

"_Kim broke up with Tommy?" Madison said quietly._

_Vida shrugged._

"_Shhh…" she said. "If we're quiet they'll keep talking."_

"_Well, he'll get through it," Mrs. Rocca said. "And he's always welcome over here if he wants a change. Jason doesn't need to be here for him to visit."_

"_Oh, he knows that," Mrs. Oliver smiled. "And I'm sure he'll come around eventually. He's been spending a lot of time with some of his other friends lately. They've been good for him since Jason left."_

"_I only met Rocky, Adam, and Aisha a couple of times," said Mrs. Rocca. "But they seem like nice kids."_

"_They are," Mrs. Oliver said. "But Aisha actually moved away about a month ago… There's a new girl running around with them now. Her name is Tanya. And then there's Kat."_

"_Kat is the blonde girl who moved here just before Kim left, right?" Mrs. Rocca asked. _

_Mrs. Oliver nodded. _

"_Yes," she said. "And she's been so sweet doing everything she possibly can to cheer Tommy up since he got the letter. I think she likes him."_

_Mrs. Rocca laughed._

"_That's high school for you," she said. "Just wait. Soon they'll be spending all their time together."_

_The front door opened and the girls scurried away from the kitchen door as Mr. Rocca came walking inside. Seeing them trying to hide, he paused._

"_What are you two up to?" he asked, raising an eyebrow._

"_Umm… We were just going to ask mom if we could go to Chip's house," Vida said quickly, trying to look as innocent as possible._

_Mr. Rocca shook his head. _

"_Is your homework done?" he asked._

"_Yes," the girls chorused._

_He looked at them skeptically, but didn't argue._

"_Go on, then," he said. "Just be back for dinner in an hour."_

"_Thanks dad!" the girls exclaimed._

_Giving him hugs, they grabbed shoes and darted out the door, forgetting about what they'd been listening to in favor of playing with their friends. _

* * *

"There I stood," Jenji said, gesturing as he told his story. "Face-to-face with the dreaded Pirate Half Nose."

The rangers sighed as the lounged around the table, trying to act interested in Jenji's long-winded retelling of one of his exploits.

"Despite having my paws tied and being made to walk the plank—" he said.

"You free yourself and beat him with your sword!" Chip interrupted, grinning.

Jenji shook his head.

"I had no sword," he said. "I was armed with only my cunning, my bravery, and a little trick I picked up in cat-mandu. I like to call it my super cat attack!"

"Super cat attack?" Nick said, raising an eyebrow.

But before Jenji could continue, they were interrupted by Clare rushing into the room with the tiny Fire Heart.

"He roared!" Clare said excitedly. "Fire Heart just roared for the first time!"

All of the rangers jumped up in excitement, crowding around Clare and the baby dragon.

"But I wasn't finished," Jenji mumbled.

No one heard him.

"What did it sound like?" Xander asked. "Was it loud and bellowy or rough and growly?"

"Well, it kind of sounded like grrr…" Clare answered, imitating a squeaky growl. "And then he let out a little puff of smoke."

"Awww… Cute!" Vida smiled as the others all agreed.

"Oh, look," Jenji muttered, waving his hands in the air. "The dragon did this. Oh, look. The dragon did that. Dragons…you can't live with them. You can't dump them in a moat. I think I may cough up a furball."

Madison, hearing a little of what he said, glanced back at Jenji and frowned. But he had slipped away. Shrugging, she went back to cooing over Fire Heart with the others.

"Uh-oh, guys," Nick said a few minutes later, glancing at his watch. "We'd better get to the store before it opens."

"Bye, Fire Heart," they all said as they headed for the door.

It didn't take long to get into town. Toby wasn't at the Rockporium when they got there, but that mean he was probably out picking something up. So the rangers got right to work preparing the shop to open.

"Oh!" Madison said, stopping in the middle of sweeping. "I was supposed to call Tommy this morning."

"Better do that," Nick said. "Any signs of anything weird?"

The girls shook their heads.

"Not that we've noticed," Vida said. "But it's hard over the phone…"

"I'm going to call him," Madison said. "You guys okay finishing up to open?"

When the other four nodded, Madison scooted over to a stool by the counter to make the phone call. The phone rang quite a few times and, for a moment, she thought it was going to go to voicemail. Then Tommy finally picked up.

"_Hello?" _he said.

"Hey, Tommy," Madison smiled. "It's Maddy."

"_Hey, Maddy," _said Tommy. _"Sorry about that—almost didn't hear my phone going off."_

She nodded, frowning. It was a little hard to hear him.

"That's alright," she said. "Umm… Tommy, why is it so loud?"

"_Sorry," _he said again. _"The top on my jeep is down and I'm on my way to Angel Grove. So it's a little windy."_

"Oh, okay," said Madison. "That makes sense."

"_So what's going on?" _Tommy asked. _"You guys doing alright?"_

"Yeah, we're fine," Madison smiled, glancing around the store. "Things have actually been quiet since you and Jason left. How's Trini doing?"

Tommy chuckled.

"_She's doing fine," _he said. _"And so is Rose. I'll make sure Jason sends some pictures soon. And Maddy?"_

"Yeah?" she said.

"_I wouldn't count on that quiet lasting too long," _he said. _"From past experience, that's when things are most likely to flare up again."_

"I know…" she sighed. "But it's nice all the same. Even one day without a monster trying to destroy us and the city is great to have once in a while."

"_Well, enjoy it while it lasts," _Tommy said.

Madison took a deep breath.

"So, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"_Other than my still-mending ribs?" _he asked. _"Just fine. Still have a little while before the ribs will be better. But nothing spell-wise if that's what you're asking. That wore off days ago."_

She sighed in relief.

"That's good to hear," she said. "Last time I called you were half asleep again—though I understand completely. I did wake you up after all."

"_Yeah…" _Tommy sighed. _"Like I said—I got no sleep at the hospital. Jason was too stressed…"_

"So just like normal," Madison laughed. "He worries too much sometimes."

"_He usually has his reasons," _Tommy said. _"But you're right. He does."_

There was banging on the door of the shop and Madison spun in surprise. Toby was there with a look of panic on his face.

"Tommy, I've gotta go," she said quickly.

"_Alright," _he said. _"Take care of yourselves."_

"Always," she responded, hanging up as Xander let Toby inside.

All five of them gathered around him.

"Quick! Hide me!" Toby exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Remember that big, black, bat thingy that carried me off before? Well, she's back. But this time she's got a big, blue bird thing! And I mean big! I don't know about you guys, but I'm hiding!"

With that, he darted into his office. Exchanging looks, the rangers headed for the door.

"So much for quiet," Madison sighed.

* * *

They found Necrolai and the new monster, Screamer, easily enough. There were piles of feathers everywhere. Exchanging grim looks, as they were pretty sure those feathers had been people, the rangers headed straight into the fight.

"Come on," Vida exclaimed.

"What lovely feathers!" Screamer crowed in delight.

The rangers stopped, facing Necrolai and Screamer.

"Well, hello, rangers," Necrolai smirked.

"We gotta do something," Vida said.

"That bird's got a foul mouth," Chip agreed. "Sorry, couldn't resist…"

Before they could do anything, however, Necrolai hit them with a spell. The rangers fell backward in shock, hitting the ground.

"Now even she's got magic," Chip said in surprise.

"Yes, I do," Necrolai cackled.

The rangers got back to their feet.

"Let's ranger up," Nick said.

Nodding in agreement, they all pulled out their wands.

"Magical source, Mystic Force!" they called together.

Morphed, they readied themselves to attack.

"We'll take Necrolai," Nick said, glancing at Xander and Chip. "Vida, Madison—perch that bird!"

"Right," Vida and Madison chorused.

They moved to take on Screamer as Xander and Chip followed Nick. He got to Necrolai first. For a few moments he was fine and then Necrolai landed a hit that sent Nick flying backward.

"Got your back!" Xander exclaimed as he and Chip jumped into the fight.

The two charged Necrolai, fighting around a parked car. Using her newly acquired magic, she caused both front doors to fly open and knock Chip and Xander off their feet.

"Give me that!" Nick shouted, going for the wand.

"Ugh!" Necrolai grunted as he hit her.

But she pushed him back onto the hood of the car.

"Fly away, ranger!" she laughed.

A short ways away, Vida and Madison were struggling with Screamer.

"Hey!" Vida exclaimed, falling back.

But the boys weren't doing great either.

"Gotcha!" Necrolai cackled.

She hit them all with a spell, lifting them high up into the air.

"Stop!" Nick said, struggling to get away.

But the three of them were trapped.

"Stop!" Madison shouted at Screamer from where she was lying on the ground.

Vida leapt at the bird monster, forcing the creature's beak shut.

"Let go of me!" Screamer shouted, twisting as she tried to throw off Vida.

"Hold on, sis!" Madison cried, getting back to her feet. "Magi staff!"

Knocking Screamer back, the two girls turned their attention to freeing Xander, Chip, and Nick. They attacked together and Necrolai fell back, releasing the others.

"Rest assured," Necrolai called. "We'll be back!"

With that, Necrolai and Screamer were gone. Vida and Madison ran to the boys.

"You ok?" Vida asked, crouching down.

"Yeah," Nick muttered. "Ah man!"

"We should get back to Rootcore," Xander said as they got to their feet. "We need to see if we can track down Necrolai before they do anymore damage."

Nodding in agreement, they all took off for the base. When they got there, they were immediately confronted by Udonna.

"Have any of you seen Fire Heart?" she asked.

Frowning, the rangers shook their heads.

"No," Chip said.

"Not me," said Nick.

"Not for a while," Madison added.

Udonna sighed.

"He's gone missing," she said. "Clare is beside herself combing the forest. If he falls into the wrong hands before he reaches adulthood, he could—"

"Jenji," Daggeron interrupted, turning to look at Jenji. "What have you done?"

He had noticed the cat trying to sneak around behind them. Jenji froze.

"Well, uh…" Jenji stammered.

"Since dragons like Fire Heart grow into adults in an instant, I thought he'd be happier in the forest," Jenji tried explaining.

Under Daggeron's glare, Jenji had confessed to taking Fire Heart out of Rootcore. So now he was leading them to where he'd left the baby dragon. Vida and Xander had stayed at Rootcore to try and locate Necrolai.

"We're not buying it, Jenji," Madison said patiently.

"Fine, don't believe me," Jenji said shortly. "Why would I care where that dumb, useless, attention getting dragon lives? Oh, oh, oh!"

He hadn't meant to say that where the rangers could hear him. But something caught Nick's attention.

"Hey, that's my blanket," Nick said, jogging over to pick up the small red blanket.

"Your blanket?" Madison said in surprise, watching him. "Isn't that a baby blanket?"

Nick looked up at her. She smiled, glancing at Chip.

"You kept it since you were a baby?" she asked. "Oh, that's cute. He's cute."

She smiled, one hand to her mouth.

"This blanket is all I have from my birth parents," Nick shrugged.

Madison's smiled slipped a little.

"Oh, you were adopted," she said. "I didn't know that…"

Nick shrugged again.

"No, no. No big thing," he reassured her. "My adoptive parents are great. It turned out fine. I just keep it—I'm not really sure why I keep it."

He frowned, looking at the blanket.

"Guys, I need your help!" Jenji cried from ahead a little ways.

Forgetting about the blanket and Nick being adopted, the three rangers ran to see what was wrong.

"Where is he?" Jenji said woefully. "I—I left him right here! Fire Heart is—gone!"

"No sign of Fire Heart…" Vida sighed, shaking her head.

They were back at Rootcore, using everything they could think of to find the missing dragon.

"And I've got more bad news," Daggeron said, joining them. "Jenji is gone, too."

"Well, maybe he's looking for Fire Heart," Chip suggested.

Daggeron shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said. "He left a note. '**I'm not looking for Fire Heart, I'm running away. No one cares about me. Your ex-friend, Jenji.'**"

The rangers exchanged concerned looks.

"This is our fault," Madison said ruefully. "We were spending so much time with Fire Heart we forgot about Jenji…"

Daggeron sighed.

"It's something he's familiar with," he said slowly. "You see, Jenji was banished from his homeland. Cast away by the ones he loved the most."

"Who would banish Jenji?" Chip frowned. "He's great."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Jenji was the strongest and most popular cat in the land," Daggeron continued. "Rexigan, the very jealous king cat, had a witch cast a spell over the entire village, convincing everyone that Jenji was evil. Everyone turned their backs on Jenji and he was banished. When I met Jenji, he was a wandering nomad—all alone…When he opened a box containing an evil trap, the only thing I could do to keep him from disappearing forever was to put him in the lamp. And, if Jenji doesn't return to the lamp within two hours, he'll be lost forever."

As the rangers exchanged grim looks, Udonna rushed over.

"Necrolai is back," she said. "Go, rangers."

They all turned for the door.

"You guys go," Madison said, shaking her head. "I'm gonna look for Jenji. He doesn't have much time…"

So, as the others headed to try and stop Necrolai and Screamer, Madison went in search of Jenji. After searching for a while, she finally found him down an alley near some trash cans.

"Jenji!" Madison called as she approached the alley. "Jenji."

She looked at him in relief as she rounded the corner.

"How'd you find me?" Jenji frowned. "Or a better question—why'd you find me?"

Madison sighed, but gestured for Jenji to sit so they could talk.

Nick, Xander, Vida, and Chip could hear Necrolai and Screamer as they ran up. They were busy turning more people into feathers.

"No point in running!" Screamer cackled, striking another group of people.

"When the power rangers turn up," Necrolai laughed. "We'll featherize them, too."

"Hey!" Nick shouted as they charged in, already morphed.

Screamer spun and directed an attack at them.

"Watch it!" Vida exclaimed, dodging.

"Get them!" Necrolai ordered.

"Jenji, you've gotta get back to that lamp," Madison sighed. "If you don't, you—"

"Oh, like you guys care," Jenji interrupted.

Madison was still trying to convince Jenji to go back to his lamp. But he was being stubborn, still hurt by their inattention.

"Jenji, how can you say that?" Madison asked.

"You guys made it quite clear that you like that smoke-belching, scaly-faced, skinny-winged, can't-even-purr-if-you-paid-him dragon more than me," he pouted.

Madison shook her head.

"I know it may seem that way, but it's not true," she insisted.

"Is," Jenji retorted.

"Is not," Madison frowned.

"Is," Jenji repeated.

Madison rolled her eyes.

"Is not," she said again. "We love you, Jenji. We were paying a lot of attention to Fire Heart, and we forgot about you—forgot about your feelings."

"Yes, you did," Jenji said shortly.

Sighing again, Madison looked at him pleadingly.

"How many times do I have to say we're sorry?" she asked.

Jenji thought about it for a moment.

"Six would be nice," he answered.

Madison smiled.

"Oh—okay," she laughed. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry."

Jenji nodded in satisfaction.

"But the next time you get your fur in a knot you can't just dump your problems in the forest," Madison continued. "You gotta talk about it. It's no better than what Rexigan did to you…"

Jenji drooped.

"You're right," he sighed. "I let you all down. I deserve what's about to happen to me."

Madison shook her head.

"Nothing is gonna happen to you if you just—" she cut off as her mystic morpher went off.

She leapt to her feet as a message crackled through.

"_Maddy, we need help!" _Nick cried.

Nick and the others were struggling to face both Necrolai and Screamer. The four were really taking a beating. Stumbling, Nick pulled out his wand to call Madison. They needed her help.

"Maddy, we need help!" he called desperately.

But the momentary distraction gave Necrolai time to grab him.

"You're mine!" she exclaimed.

She sent another spell at Nick, knocking him to the ground. He climbed back to his feet as Vida jumped into defend him.

"Hey!" Nick shouted as she threw Vida.

"You're turn!" Necrolai said, throwing Nick into Vida and knocking them both down. "Screamer, rangers down."

Before either of them could get up, Screamer turned her magic on them, turning both Vida and Nick into feathers. Xander and Chip charged.

"Crossbow!" Chip shouted.

But his attack was deflected and, before he or Xander could dive out of the way, they were both caught in Screamer's retaliatory attack.

Madison looked with wide eyes at her morpher.

"Guys, are you okay?" she cried. "Where are you? Guys?"

There was no answer. Spinning, Madison went to tell Jenji she was going to find them, but he was gone, too.

"Jenji?" she said in surprise. "Oh no."

Hoping she'd make it in time, Madison bolted to find the others.

"Yes," Necrolai laughed, looking at the four piles of feathers before her. "This is perfect. All we need now is the blue ranger."

But it wasn't Madison who got there first. Jenji charged into the fight, determined to save his friends as he attacked Screamer.

"Ugh. I hate cats," Necrolai hissed.

"Meow, baby," Jenji grinned. "You're in trouble now cause Jenji is here!"

"Bring it on, kitty!" Screamer cried. "Let's do this."

They charged each other. But Screamer got the best of Jenji, sending him flying backward.

"Take that," she squawked.

Madison ran in, ready to join the fight and saw Jenji on the ground. She attacked Screamer, putting herself between the monster and Jenji.

"Jenji, are you ok?" she asked.

He groaned and Madison attacked Screamer. They fought hard for a few minutes, and then Screamer managed to take her down. Madison was sent flying backward. Hitting the ground hard, she demorphed. For a moment she just lay there, stunned and in pain.

"No! No!" Jenji cried. "No, I wish I had more time!"

He had gotten back to his feet, but time was running out and he started to fade. But his desperate cry worked. The magic of the genii worked and he was solid again for the moment. Madison sighed in relief as Jenji turned back to Screamer.

"Hey, it worked!" Jenji laughed. "No more taking it easy on you, birdbrain!"

"Jenji!" Madison exclaimed as he faced down the monster.

"I've had enough of you!" Screamer shouted.

Jenji scoffed.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" he boasted. "Watch this! Super cat attack!"

He struck Screamer hard, severing the beak that emitted the feather magic from her head.

"My beak!" she screamed. "My beautiful beak! Now I can't do anything!"

Madison climbed back to her feet, running toward Jenji.

"Where is he?" Udonna fretted, pacing out onto the high balcony.

Daggeron followed, Jenji's lamp in hand. There was still no sign of him.

"Udonna!" Clare cried, running up to them. "I found Fire Heart! And he has really grown!"

Udonna turned to look at her in surprise.

"That's wonderful, but, Clare, Jenji hasn't returned to his lamp," she said. "His time is about to run out."

Clare looked at them with wide eyes.

"It will take a miracle to save him," Daggeron sighed, looking at the lamp in his hands.

There was a loud roar and the sound of wings.

"Woah!" Daggeron shouted as he was suddenly lifted into the air by Fire Heart.

"Yeah! Go Fire Heart!" Clare called after them.

As Madison reached Jenji, he started fading again. Madison dropped to her knees next to him, looking at her friend in horror.

"Jenji," she cried. "Why didn't you go back to Rootcore and save yourself?"

"You guys are my family," Jenji said sadly as he quickly faded away. "My only family. Tell Fire Heart I'm sorry..."

He vanished from sight as Madison gasped. But there was a roar from up high and Daggeron dropped in, Fire Heart flying off back to the forest. Daggeron immediately held out the lamp, hoping to pull Jenji back into. A silver mist started flowing back into the lamp and Madison stood up, watching hopefully.

"Tell him yourself," Daggeron said in relief.

Jenji popped his head back out of the lamp.

"Ah, home sweet home," he sighed.

Madison laughed, smiling to see him.

"Touching," Screamer exclaimed. "But I'm not through with you yet!"

Daggeron and Madison turned to face her.

"Time to ranger up, Maddy," Daggeron said.

She nodded, pulling out her morpher.

"Magical source, Mystic Force!" she cried. "Let's get her Jenji!"

Reaching over, she took the lamp from a surprised Daggeron.

"Oh, yeah!" Jenji laughed.

"Solaris laser lamp!" said Madison, readying the lamp for an attack.

Nodding, Daggeron stepped back.

"Ok, do it," he said.

"Jenji shining attack," Madison said, taking aim at Screamer.

"You're—you're nothing!" Screamer shouted, charging at her.

"Fire!" Madison cried.

"Take this!" Jenji shouted as the spell hit dead on.

Screamer fell with a cry.

"Scream at this," Madison smirked.

Screamer's spells over the rangers and the people shattered and they returned to their original forms.

"What? No!" Necrolai screamed. "This isn't over. Grow Screamer!"

The other four rangers ran to join Madison and Daggeron.

"Thanks, Maddy!" Nick exclaimed.

"Thank Jenji," she corrected.

With shouts, they called their zord forms. Jenji returned to fight with Daggeron, though he took control of the zord.

"Whoa, nice to be back," Jenji grinned at the controls.

"Nice to have you back, Jenji," Daggeron said.

Jenji tossed him the coal shovel and he looked at it in surprise. But he let it go.

"Not this time!" Jenji shouted as Screamer attacked.

"Furnace blast!" Daggeron shouted.

Screamer fell backward, stumbling as the rangers charged into the fight.

"Spirits of the Ancient Titans!" they cried together.

Screamer went down, the battle over.

"Checkmate!" all of the rangers shouted.

"My goose is cooked!" Screamer cried as she fell for the last time.

"Yeah! We did it! Alright!" Jenji exclaimed in excitement.

"Thank you, Jenji," Daggeron said a while later. "I'm glad you're back with us."

Daggeron, Udonna, and Jenji were approaching the entrance to Rootcore. The five rangers had returned to Briarwood and work after all of them apologized to Jenji again.

"I was pretty good, wasn't I?" Jenji preened.

"Look out below!" a shout interrupted.

The three looked up in time to see Phineas come crashing down, dropped by Fire Heart.

"Thanks for the lift, PJ!" he shouted after the dragon. "Tomorrow we'll work on the landings!"

Smiling, Phineas turned to Udonna.

"He's a good boy," he said fondly. "Thank you so much for letting me dragon-sit him."

"Anytime, Phineas," Udonna smiled.

They started to turn back toward the entrance as Phineas continued talking.

"I never got to see the other baby I left in the human world twenty years ago," he said absently. "It kind of makes me sad…"

Udonna froze in surprise, turning to look at him again.

"What baby?" she asked, stepping toward Phineas.

He stared at her.

"Oops. Ha, uh, did I say, 'baby'?" he stammered. "No, no. It must have just sounded like I said 'baby'. What I actually said was 'lady'. Uh…"

Udonna looked at him expectantly as he tried to dodge.

"What about—oh… her will is too strong," Phineas grumbled. "Must tell the truth."

He hesitated for another moment and then gave in.

"Ok, fine," he sighed. "When Daggeron and Calandor were having their little dispute twenty years ago, I found a baby. Yeah. But with the great battle going on I knew I couldn't care for him myself so I took him to the human world. I left him somewhere safe."

"Bowen?" Udonna breathed, her face lighting up. "Bowen is alive? Daggeron, I have to find him."

She spun, intending to head straight to the human world to look for him.

"Udonna, wait," Daggeron said, stopping her. "If he is in the human world, then he is safe. We should focus on destroying evil before we put Bowen in harm's way. If they find out he's alive…"

He trailed off and Udonna sighed, nodding.

"You're right," she agreed, turning back to Phineas. "We must keep this a secret from everyone. Or Bowen will be in grave danger."


	16. Chapter 16

Alright, thank you guys so much for the feed back and the thoughts we really appreciate it. There is a lot more where all this comes from hope you will stick with us to the end. hazergirl1220 and i love hearing your ideas and requests so don't hesitate to send them to us. It might be a little bit before we are able to finish them but we only like putting our completed work out there so let us know. Enjoy the story and keep the ideas coming! :)

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_**E.R. Visit**_

"_Mom, we're home!" Jason called, shutting the door behind him. _

_Jason and Tommy kicked off their shoes and headed upstairs with their bags. They could hear Mrs. Rocca in the kitchen with the girls getting dinner ready as they passed. But the two boys kept going straight for Jason's room. _

"_Awww man…" Jason groaned, falling onto his bed. "I feel like a zord stepped on me…"_

_Tommy snorted._

"_It pretty much did," he said. "Or at least the equivalent of one—you really should stay away from giant feet."_

_Jason rolled over and chucked a pillow at him. _

"_Like you were doing any better," he retorted. "Who's the one who decided to try tripping the giant monster?"_

"_Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Tommy protested, catching the pillow and throwing it back. "Besides, you're the one who said we should slow it down—I slowed it down."_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jason muttered, sitting up with a grimace. "But you can't tell me you aren't sore, too."_

"_Never said I wasn't," Tommy grinned. "I'm just not complaining. Someone is still out of practice."_

"_I'll show you out of practice," Jason growled, standing up with the intention of tackling Tommy. _

_But he was interrupted by his mother calling them down for dinner. _

"_We'll finish this later," Jason said, glaring at Tommy as he yanked open his door. _

"_Whatever you say, O Great Gold Ranger," Tommy laughed, following him out. _

_They started down the hall toward the stairs, laughing and jostling each other as they went. _

"_Hey, Jase?" Tommy said suddenly, frowning as he paused. _

"_Yeah?" he said, stopping and turning. _

"_You might want to cover that bruise," he answered, pointing. _

_Jason's shirt had shifted to show a rather large new bruise that was starting to darken. He grimaced when he saw where Tommy was pointing. _

"_Oh, that's great," he muttered, tugging his shirt back into place. "Maybe I should—"_

"_Jason! Tommy!" Mrs. Rocca called again. _

"_I'll just have to hide it until after dinner," Jason sighed, turning to head down the stairs. "I'll change shirts after we eat."_

_Tommy shrugged and followed him down the stairs. Mr. and Mrs. Rocca were already at the table with the girls. Still poking at each other, the two boys took their seats. Plates were passed and everyone started eating. _

"_So how was school today?" Mrs. Rocca asked, looking at the four kids._

_Madison and Vida immediately started talking, the ten-year-olds eager to tell their mother all about their school day. But when it was Tommy and Jason's turn they just shrugged. _

"_Same thing it always is," Tommy said. "Lots of sitting and lots of homework."_

"_No kidding," Jason grumbled. "I should have just stayed at the conference."_

_Jason sighed, taking another bite of his dinner. He had planned on staying with Trini and Zach at the Peace Conferences until the end of the year when they were all coming back, but then he'd heard from Tommy about what was going on with Trey and the gold ranger powers. So he came back early to help out._

"_Well, you're the one who wanted to come home early," Mrs. Rocca said. "So no complaining from you."_

"_Yeah, I know…" he sighed. _

"_So then what have you two been up to all afternoon?" Mr. Rocca asked. "I'm hoping you were doing your homework somewhere."_

_They both shrugged, exchanging a quick look for a silent conversation. _

"_Of course," Jason said casually. "We were just hanging out with everyone at the park after school."_

_Mrs. Rocca frowned. _

"_Wasn't there a monster attack there today?" she asked. _

"_Could have been," Tommy said quickly. "We did leave for a while to go to the library. Had to do our homework after all."_

"_Jason?" Vida said suddenly, reaching over and tugging on his shirt to get his attention. "Can you take me there tomorrow? I'm supposed to get a book for class…"_

"_We'll see," he said, extracting his shirt from her grip. "But definitely not if you rip my shirt."_

_She stuck her tongue out at him, grinning. _

"_Why did you color on yourself?" Madison asked, looking at Jason._

"_I didn't," he frowned, confused. _

"_Then what's that?" Madison asked, pointing. _

_Jason froze, realizing too late that Vida's tugging had uncovered the bruise Tommy had mentioned. He quickly tried to cover it, but his mother had already seen. _

"_Jason," she said sharply, frowning. "Is that a bruise?"_

"_What?" he said, feigning surprise. "Umm… yeah, I guess. Tommy and I were sparring earlier. He must have hit me harder than I thought."_

_Tommy shot him a look which he ignored. But Mrs. Rocca wasn't convinced. Standing up, she walked around the table to take a closer look. _

"_Mom, I'm fine," Jason groaned as she tugged his shirt aside for a closer look. "It's just a bruise. An accident."_

"_He's right, Mrs. Rocca," Tommy said quickly. "We'll try and be more careful next time."_

_But they were too late. She'd seen some of the other bruises Jason had covered under his shirt._

"_Those are not just bruises!" she exclaimed. "What were you two doing?"_

"_Sparring," Jason said again, trying to pull away from his mother. "Nothing serious. We just got a little carried away."_

"_Jason Scott," she scolded. "You're hiding something from me. Now what is going on?"_

_Tommy and Jason exchanged glances, both of them thinking fast on how to dodge around this. They weren't about to tell her the truth. But then Mr. Rocca, who had been silent so far, leaned forward on the table to look at them. _

"_Does this have anything to do with that monster attack?" he asked, looking at them expectantly. "The one in the park where you both said you spent the afternoon?"_

_Both boys flinched slightly._

"_Dad, we were sparring in the park," Jason repeated. "But then—"_

_Mr. Rocca raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms while Mrs. Rocca hovered, glaring down at her son. Jason looked at Tommy in desperation, but Tommy shrugged in defeat. He was out of ideas that didn't involve bolting for home and trying to hide. _

"_Alright, alright," Jason muttered. "We may have gotten caught up with some of those co—machine men before the rangers showed up—but it wasn't a big deal!"_

_Tommy grimaced as Mrs. Rocca gasped, a hand going to her mouth. _

"_Big brother is in trouble," Vida snickered, bumping against Madison who nodded in agreement. _

"_Oh, this is going to end well," Tommy muttered as she started scolding them._

"_You were attacked and you weren't going to tell us?" she cried. "Jason, you could have been seriously injured. You need to tell us if things like this happen!"_

"_Mom, it's just a few bruises," Jason grumbled._

"_It is not just a few bruises," she retorted. "Now you stay right there. Girls, come help me clean up and then get your shoes and jackets on. Honey, will you get the car ready?"_

_Jason and Tommy frowned as they exchanged looks while Mr. Rocca nodded, standing and leaving the room. _

"_Where are you going?" Jason asked suspiciously, looking at his mother. _

"_We are going to the emergency room," she said, glaring at him. "All of us."_

_She looked at Tommy, too, meaning she was planning on taking him. But he immediately leapt up and darted for the door, deciding to get his backpack from Jason's room later. _

"_Tommy!" she called after him. _

"_Sorry, Mrs. Rocca," he called back. "But you aren't my mother. I don't have to go if I don't want to." _

_And then he was gone, the door closing behind him. Mrs. Rocca turned back to glaring at Jason, silently daring him to move. Grumbling, he just sank further into his chair to wait. He had no idea how to get out of this one. As the twins finished clearing the table, Mrs. Rocca picked up the phone and dialed._

"_I don't need an ambulance, mom," Jason said, eyeing the phone._

"_I'm not calling one," she said shortly. "Though you should have earlier after you were attacked. No, I'm calling Mrs. Oliver. And then I'm calling the rest of your friends' parents."_

_Groaning, Jason leaned forward on the table and buried his head in his arms. The other rangers were going to kill him._

"_It's gonna be a long night," he muttered. _

_Jason and his parents, with the twins in tow, were the first ones to the E.R. They got Jason checked in went to find seats in the crowded waiting room. The hospital had been dealing with the aftermath of the monster attack all day. Once they were done checking in, Jason was told by his mother to sit and not move until they were called, so he dropped into a chair in the corner and scowled at her._

"_I don't need to be here," he muttered, crossing his arms and slouching, barely suppressing a wince of pain as he leaned against the hard back of the chair._

_Adam was the next to arrive at the E.R., ushered in quickly by his mother who looked extremely upset with him. As she started checking him in, he escaped and hurried over to sit by Jason, who had just come back a few minutes before from triage and was now waiting to see the doctor. _

"_Where's Tommy?" Adam asked, glancing around. "Thought he went home with you after—well, after we split up for the day."_

"_He did," Jason grumbled. "The rat took off the moment my mom mentioned the E.R…"_

"_I think we all wanted to do that," Adam sighed, leaning back in his chair._

_It was a busy night due to the attack earlier that evening, so when Kat and Tanya arrived with Kat's parents a short time later Adam and Jason were both still waiting to actually see the doctor. Adam had made it through triage as well, but so far it seemed as though they were in for a long wait. They'd staked out a corner for themselves while their parents spoke nearby and Jason's sisters played out of the way. Kat stalked straight over to the boys, followed closely by Tanya. Both of them were glaring at Jason. _

"_What were you thinking?" Kat hissed, pulling another chair over to them. "We've barely had four hours. They're bound to find something and how do you plan on explaining?"_

_The ability of the rangers to heal quickly wasn't an instantaneous process. Normal cuts and bruises generally faded within hours, but anything worse than that could take a day or longer to completely disappear. So, out of necessity, all of the rangers had gotten really good at hiding signs of pain and injury from everyone but each other. Non-rangers couldn't know how fast they healed without suspecting something, so the only place they could admit to the pain was in the privacy of the Power Chamber or behind closed doors where there was no one else to hear. Their fight that afternoon had been a bad one, resulting in serious injuries all around. That is why Jason's bruises had been so visible at dinner. His body was trying to heal a more serious injury before the minor things like bruises._

"_My dad figured it out," Jason retorted. "It was either blame it on the cogs or tell him the whole story. I thought you guys would prefer to blame it on the cogs."_

_She huffed, but didn't argue. Tanya sighed, shaking her head. None of them would ever be allowed out again if their parents found out they were rangers. About a half an hour later, Tommy arrived. Mr. Oliver pushed him into the E.R. in a wheelchair. Tommy was scowling, his arms crossed in front of him. After getting checked him in, his parents pushed him over to join his friends. Mrs. Oliver told him firmly to remain put before they went to join the other parents. _

"_Tommy, are you alright?" Kat asked in surprise._

"_I'm fine," he muttered. "My mother is paranoid…"_

_Jason snickered. _

"_Should have stayed with me, bro," he grinned. _

_Tommy glared at him._

"_Oh, the wheelchair is just part of it," Tommy said shortly. "The worst part is I no longer have a door to my room."_

"_What happened to your door?" Adam asked. _

"_Dad took it down," he grumbled. "I got home, told mom I was tired, and locked myself in my room. Not long after she started pounding on my door demanding I come out so she could take me to the E.R. When I wouldn't come out she started threatening to ground me, etc. Then when dad got home and I still hadn't unlocked the door, he went out to the garage and got his tools. Took off the hinges, popped the lock, and here I am."_

"_Nice," Jason smirked. "Hey!"_

_Tommy had just kicked him in the shin. All of the parents turned at Jason's exclamation, so he quickly hid his grimace and glared back along with the other rangers. None of them were happy about being there. _

"_This is not how I intended to spend my night," Tanya said. "It's Friday night—we should be doing something fun, not sitting in the E.R…"_

"_You're telling us," Kat sighed. "Did anyone else's parents find anything? Besides Jason, I mean."_

_She asked quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was in earshot of the question. They five rangers were still in a corner of the room, trying to separate themselves so they could talk a little more freely. Their parents were all sitting nearby, but not close enough to overhear anything unless they were loud. _

"_No," Adam answered, shaking his head. "My shoulder is sore, but since we popped it back in at the Power Chamber they're not gonna know unless they actually take an x-ray. So I'm hoping the doctor won't insist on that…"_

"_And your parents didn't say anything about me," Tanya said, looking at Kat. "I haven't been limping, have I? I thought I was doing good hiding whatever I did to my ankle."_

_Tanya looked at them anxiously, hoping she hadn't slipped on covering up her injuries._

"_You weren't," Kat reassured her before looking back at the boys. "But my parents found that gash on my arm…"_

_The boys grimaced. During the fight she'd taken a slash to the arm that had gotten through the suit. They'd cleaned and bandaged it at the Power Chamber, but it had been deep enough that it was going to take at least a day to close and heal completely. _

"_I know," she sighed. "And I'm sure the doctor will insist on stitches—and of course it will nearly be closed and healed by tomorrow night. How am I going to explain that to my parents?"_

"_You don't," Tommy answered, shaking his head. "Whatever injuries they label us with tonight we're going to have to follow through on…No matter what. They can't know about us. Just don't let them help you re-bandage your arm…"_

_All of the others groaned, but nodded in agreement. They knew it was the only way to keep their secret._

"_So, where's Rocky?" Tanya asked, glancing around. _

"_Not here yet," Jason grumbled. "Maybe he's lucky and doesn't have to come…"_

_Tommy started to say something, but they were interrupted by a nurse calling his name. He just groaned as his father came to get his wheelchair and take him to triage. Across the waiting room, Madison and Vida were trying to entertain themselves. They were climbing over a series of chairs when Mrs. Rocca noticed what they were doing._

"_Girls!" she exclaimed. "Get down!"_

"_But mom," Vida protested._

"_Down, girls," Mr. Rocca said firmly. "Listen to your mother."_

_Sighing, they both jumped down to the floor._

"_Then what are we supposed to do?" Madison asked, looking around._

"_There are some toys over there," Mrs. Rocca said absently. "Or you can sit still and be quiet."_

_Grumbling, the girls went to find the toys their mother was talking about as Tommy was wheeled back into the room and back to his friends. But the toys in the room were meant for much younger children._

"_Oh, this is fun," Vida muttered, rolling her eyes as she poked at one of the toys._

"_Right, fun…" Madison sighed._

_Frowning, Vida looked around. Another of Jason's friends, Rocky, had just come in with his mother. She did not look happy as she scolded him, holding him by the ear._

"_Come on," she said, taking Madison's hand and tugging her away from the toys._

_Tommy, Jason, Adam, Tanya, and Kat looked up as Rocky came in. His mother was loudly scolding him as she pulled him along by the ear._

"_Mom—ow!" Rocky protested. "I'm coming! Please let—ouch!"_

_She didn't release him until they got to the desk and she had to start filling out forms. Rocky immediately darted out of reach and hurried to join the other rangers, rubbing his ear as he did. The other rangers were snickering at him._

"_Shut up," he growled, dropping into a chair. _

"_Jason!" Vida said, pulling Madison over with her. "There's nothing to do."_

"_So?" he said, crossing his arms as he glared at them. "What's your point?"_

"_We're bored," she said._

"_There's nothing to do," Madison added. "There aren't even any books to read…"_

"_Well, what do you want me to do about that?" he retorted. "We wouldn't even be here if you two hadn't shown mom my bruise."_

_Both girls rolled their eyes. The other rangers stayed quiet, not too happy with the girls at that moment._

"_Tell us a story," Madison said. _

_Jason scoffed, shaking his head._

"_Nope," he said. "Not happening."_

"_Please?" Vida begged. "You always tell the best stories."_

"_I'm not telling you any stories," he said. "I don't really even want to talk to you right now. So go away."_

"_Please?" Madison said as they both pouted at him._

"_Not happening," he growled. "Just go away and bug someone else."_

"_There's no one else here," Vida countered._

"_Mom and dad are here," he said. "Go bother them."_

"_They're talking to the nurse," Madison said._

_And they were. Mrs. Rocca had stopped a passing nurse to ask for an approximate wait time. _

"_It's hard to say," the nurse told her. "There is a lot of traffic tonight because of the monster attack earlier. Right now they're trying to move some of the more serious cases on. We'll get to you as soon as we can."_

_Mrs. Rocca sighed, nodding. But she didn't have to wait much longer because the door opened and another nurse walked in._

"_Jason Scott?" she said, looking around. _

_Jason groaned as his parents both turned to look at him. He muttered under his breath as he stood up._

"_Good luck," Tanya said._

"_Yeah, thanks," he grumbled as he followed his parents and the nurse out. _

_A few hours later, the rangers and their parents were all back in the waiting room. They'd all seen the doctor and were just finishing up before heading home. Tommy and Adam had managed to get away with the 'just bruises' ploy, but they were the only ones. Jason had separated the muscles in his back just below the shoulder blades. Fortunately for him, they decided it wasn't a bad separation just from touch and didn't take x-rays. He knew from how much it actually hurt that it was a lot worse than anyone thought—he just didn't want them to find out. Kat ended up getting stitches, despite her protests that she didn't want them and they weren't necessary. Both her parents and the doctor insisted. And Tanya was now in the wheelchair instead of Tommy. Though she'd been able to hide a limp from everyone, she hadn't been able to hide the bruising and swelling of her ankle. X-rays had shown it wasn't broken or fractured, but the determination that it was a severe sprain had earned her crutches and the instructions that she was to stay off it as much as possible. That was why she was now in the wheelchair._

"_Only you could get a concussion with a helmet on, man," Jason muttered, smirking at Rocky. _

_The last one through the emergency room, he'd just joined them and shared that the doctors had discovered his concussion. Rocky glared at Jason, who just grinned back. There wasn't a whole lot Rocky could do about his comments with their parents there. Kat, Tanya, and Adam, all sitting or standing by Jason, laughed, too. Tommy, on the other hand was arguing with his mother. The doctor had prescribed some minor pain medication that she was trying to convince him to take._

"_Mom, I don't need it," he said, adamantly shaking his head. "I'm fine. The doctor said so. Just some bruising and that'll go away. It doesn't hurt."_

"_Bruised ribs are not a joke," she scolded. "You're going home and going to bed and we'll see if you go to school on Monday."_

_He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. Madison and Vida were running around in excitement, ready to leave. They'd been bored all night and now they were a bit hyper at the thought of finally going home. Their parents, currently talking with some of the other parents, weren't paying attention to what they were doing so the twins were running and bouncing all around the waiting room. _

"_Why wouldn't I go to school?" Tommy sighed. "Bruises are not a reason to miss school."_

"_Well, you are obviously traumatized by this whole experience," Mrs. Oliver huffed. "You wouldn't even tell us it had happened."_

_Tommy rolled his eyes. _

"_I am not traumatized," he said. "It wasn't a big deal."_

"_Oh, yeah," Jason snickered. "Tommy's completely traumatized. Just the sight of the co—metal men terrified him."_

_Tommy shot a glare in his direction, but Jason just laughed. The cogs didn't scare any of them. All they did was announce that something worse was probably about to happen and to be on guard. But Mrs. Oliver didn't catch the sarcasm as she looked at Tommy in concern._

"_Right, terrified," Rocky added, grinning. "He was shaking and everything."_

"_My poor baby," Mrs. Oliver cried, reaching out to hug Tommy. _

"_Mom!" he exclaimed, trying to pull away from her. "I am not traumatized! Would you stop? I didn't tell you because I didn't—"_

_He pulled away from her and took a step back, but he didn't see the flower delivery man coming behind him. The delivery man, who was carrying a large vase with a rather over-the-top arrangement of flowers, was so focused on seeing around the flowers and not tripping over one of the twins that he didn't see Tommy either. The two collided, the vase slamming into Tommy's back and shattering. Tommy jerked and stumbled forward, gasping in pain as he dropped to one knee, an arm wrapped around his ribcage. Jason bolted forward to him as nurses came running, drawn by the sound of the vase breaking and Tommy's mother screaming._

"_Tommy, are you alright?" Jason exclaimed, reaching down to him._

_Tommy grimaced, gasping as he tried to answer. He was struggling to breathe. Behind him, the delivery man was stammering out apologies as he stared in shock. Nurses came running, one of them bringing over a wheelchair. Jason helped them get Tommy into it. Tommy was still struggling to breathe as he continued to hold his ribs. _

"_What's going on?" Mrs. Oliver finally stammered out. "Did it cut you? What happened?"_

"_From the way he's struggling to breathe, he may have a broken rib or two," the nurse answered grimly. "We're going to take him right back for x-rays."_

_Mrs. Oliver gasped and Mr. Oliver put an arm around her shoulders. The nurse wheeled Tommy back out of the lobby as his parents followed close behind. The delivery man, still stammering apologies, was escorted out of the E.R. All of the other rangers exchanged grim looks as someone came to pick up the shattered remnants of the vase and flower arrangement. The parents watched the Olivers go in concern, glancing at their own children, too. _

"_Should we stay a little longer?" Mrs. Rocca said hesitantly, looking at her husband._

_He frowned, hesitating, too. Tommy had become a near-constant fixture in their house with how often he was over with Jason. And Jason wasn't going to protest. He was worried about Tommy. Not just that he was hurt, but that if the doctors gave him any drugs something might come out that no one else should hear. _

"_I want to stay until Tommy's done," Jason said, crossing his arms._

_The rest of his friends were nodding in agreement. None of them wanted to leave Tommy alone until they knew what was going on. _

"_Well," Mr. Rocca said slowly, looking around at the other parents. _

"_No!" Vida and Madison exclaimed. _

"_We want to go home," Madison insisted. _

"_It's boring here," Vida added. _

"_Then mom or dad can take you home," Jason said. "I'm not leaving."_

_The girls exchanged annoyed look before turning back to Jason. He was back with his friends. The five of them were grouped together carrying on one of those silent conversations that the girls never understood while the parents were discussing options for staying. _

"_We want to go," Vida said again._

_She and Madison bounced forward to try and encourage them to leave. Madison grabbed Jason's hand and Vida grabbed Adam's. The two boys were the closest rangers to where the girls had been standing, which is why they grabbed them. Both of the twins pulled hard as they tried to get them to move. Unfortunately, their insistence on leaving started spiraling things downhill as Adam let out a cry of pain. The arm Vida had pulled on was the same arm he'd dislocated earlier. The rangers had popped it back in at the Power Chamber, but it still wasn't fully healed. His arm popped back out of the socket and he cried out, stumbling after her in pain as Vida let go in surprise. Everyone could tell just by looking that his arm had been dislocated. At the same time Adam's arm dislocated, Madison pulled too hard on Jason and he grunted in pain as her weight pulled at the separated muscles in his back. His parents caught the look on his face as everything descended into chaos again._

"_Adam!" Mrs. Park cried, running to her son._

"_Jason!" the Roccas exclaimed._

_Adam was grimacing in pain now, holding his arm close to his body. Jason was trying to hide his own pain as he pulled his hand away from a shocked Madison. Both of the girls were staring at the two boys in complete shock. More nurses came rushing over._

"_Come on, sweetheart," one of the nurses said to Adam, gently starting to escort him from the room. "Let's get that taken care of."_

_He didn't protest as he concentrated on fighting the pain. Jason, on the other hand, was nearly doubled over as he tried to recover from the surprise strain on his muscles. _

"_That's it," Mrs. Rocca announced. "You're getting x-rays. Obviously you're hiding something from us."_

"_Mom, I don't—" Jason tried to protest._

_But his father silenced him with a look, leaving Jason with no choice but to allow himself to be led after the others. With the rest of the parents insisting on more in depth checks, Kat, Tanya, and Rocky weren't far behind. _

_Several hours later, the rangers were gathered in a hospital room while their parents talked out in the hallway. Madison and Vida had fallen asleep in the waiting room with Mr. Rocca watching them. Tommy, back from x-rays and having his ribs examined, was lying in the hospital bed. He wasn't happy because the doctor was insisting on keeping him at least overnight. _

"_This is stupid," he muttered, wincing as he shifted. "We shouldn't be here at all…"_

"_No kidding," Jason muttered, shaking his head. "Mom sees one bruise and now we're all grounded for the next month…"_

"_This is horrible," Kat agreed, leaning back in the chair she was sitting in. "My parents are even going to try calling Tanya's parents in Africa about this…"_

"_But what if they tell you to come home?" Adam asked. "Aisha already stayed in Africa. You can't help us fight from there…"_

_He was sitting, too. Adam was a bit out of it from the drugs he'd been given while he'd been in too much pain to realize what he was taking. Once the rangers realized the affect the drugs were having on him, they'd stuck a lot closer. Adam wasn't exactly up for keeping secrets in his current state of mind. Mrs. Rocca had tried to get Jason to take the same pain medication, but he had adamantly refused to take it. Stopping short of forcing it on him, Mrs. Rocca had insisted on getting a prescription anyways with the intention of coercing Jason into taking it when they got home. Tommy had refused medicine, too, but he was pretty sure he'd been given something through the IV he was currently hooked up to._

"_I don't want to go back to Africa right now," Tanya sighed. "I like it here. And I don't want to leave you guys down in numbers."_

"_We had five rangers before Jason," Adam said, shaking his head. "We could have five again."_

_She rolled her eyes, but didn't yell at him for the implication that they didn't need her._

"_Hey, I'm just temporary," Jason said. "Only here til Trey pulls himself together—literally. We've gotta make sure Tanya doesn't go anywhere."_

_The rangers all nodded in agreement. Tommy, trying to shift into a more comfortable position, grimaced again. He was breathing better now, but the ribs still hurt._

"_So are they really gonna keep you all night?" Rocky asked._

"_Yeah," Tommy sighed. "And mom and dad won't argue… they think I need a night here…"_

"_How bad do they hurt?" Kat asked softly, rubbing a hand up and down his arm._

_He shrugged, wincing again._

"_I've had worse," he said. _

"_Don't worry," Adam said. "It'll be better by tomorrow. Probably just a fracture by the time they let you go."_

_All of the other rangers froze as what Adam had just said registered with them. The doctors would examine Tommy's ribs again before he was released, including taking more x-rays. They would notice if the injury went from break to fracture overnight. _

"_Aww man…" Tommy groaned. _

"_We can't explain that," Rocky said, shaking his head. _

"_No, we can't," Jason said grimly, looking at Tommy._

"_Jason…" Tommy pleaded, knowing what was coming._

"_I'm sorry, bro," Jason sighed. "I really hate to do this to you—but you've gotta give me your morphers…"_

_Tommy grimaced, as did all of the other rangers. Having to spend a night without the power of the morphers was not going to be comfortable. Being separated from them would slow down the accelerated healing enough that it wouldn't be noticeable to the doctors, but it was going to be a long night for Tommy._

"_Come on, bro," Jason said, holding out his hand. "Before they come in to tell us we have to leave…"_

_Sighing again, Tommy flicked his wrists and called his morphers. Pulling them off, he handed both parts over to Jason. Taking them, Jason immediately tucked them into a secure pocket for safekeeping._

"_I will get them back to you as soon as I can after they release you," he promised. "Even if I have to teleport to your house. I promise."_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tommy grumbled, already starting to feel a little worse now that he wasn't wearing them. _

_Kat, who had gotten up to guard the door while the morphers were exchanging hands, spun to look at the other rangers with wide eyes._

"_They're talking about Billy," she hissed._

"_What?" the others exclaimed._

_She nodded, putting a finger to her lips as she listened through the door. _

"_They think all of this is a rebellion over losing Billy," she said after a moment. "And—and they're discussing enrolling us in group therapy!"_

_All of them groaned. Billy had been gone for a while now, having left Earth to live on Aquitar. But that wasn't something he could just tell people without explaining a lot of things he wasn't supposed to be talking about. So the rangers had come up with a solution. According to local news and anyone who wasn't a ranger, Billy had disappeared in a monster attack a couple of months before. A search had been conducted, but the rangers had only laid enough of a trail to make it look like the monster had indeed done something to him. Their plan had succeeded. The only part that they'd really struggled with was what to tell Billy's father. In the end, they had left it up to Billy. None of the rangers knew what he had told his father. For all they knew, he knew about them being power rangers. But the few times they had seen him since Billy's departure, he'd treated them just as he had before. So, as long as he didn't bring it up, they continued to act as if he knew nothing. That included things like asking if there had been any sign of Billy and if he needed any help around the house with Billy being gone. _

"_We didn't lose Billy," Adam frowned. "Billy's on Aquitar—I talked to him yesterday. He likes it there…"_

_The rangers all looked at Adam, who looked back in confusion._

"_What?" he said. _

"_You're not allowed to talk anymore tonight," Jason growled. "You're going to say something you shouldn't and then we'll all be in trouble. If any of our parents found out about us being rangers we'd—"_

"_Be grounded for life," Tommy interrupted. "And kept under house arrest, too."_

_All of them nodded in agreement. None of their parents would be alright with learning their high school children were the power rangers. _

"_Don't worry, Jase," Rocky said. "I'll keep Adam in line. Mom says I'm going home with him tonight anyways. Something about I'll get more rest if my siblings don't wake me up screaming in the morning."_

_Rocky had a lot of younger siblings and the house was generally full of noise. He was used to sleeping through it, but in this case he wasn't going to protest if it meant one of them stayed with Adam. Because if Adam said anything in front of his mother it would get back to all of their parents and they'd all be in trouble. The door opened and all of the rangers turned to look as Mr. and Mrs. Oliver walked in. The other parents were waiting in the hallway. _

"_Time for the rest of you to head home," Mr. Oliver said. "All of you need to get some rest."_

_Sighing, the rangers said goodbye to Tommy and headed out into the hallway. As Adam passed the adults, he looked up at them._

"_I'm not supposed to talk to you," he said as he kept walking._

_As the parents exchanged confused glances, the rangers groaned and hurried after Adam. _

"_Remember, Jason," Mrs. Rocca scolded as the family climbed out of the car. "Any rough housing and all of you are going home, group project finished or not."_

_Jason rolled his eyes, but nodded. He was just anxious to get in the house and give Tommy back his morphers. It was late in the afternoon the day after the E.R. visit and the rangers had managed to convince their parents to let them all get together at Tommy's house to see how he was doing and to work on homework by claiming they had a group project due the next week. Tommy had only gotten home a few hours before. Since they were bringing Jason anyways, the Roccas had all come over to visit for the afternoon. Madison and Vida were rested from their long night and excited to get out of the house._

"_Where's Tommy?" Jason asked the moment someone answered the front door._

"_He's resting downstairs," Mr. Oliver answered, holding the door open. "The rest of your friends are already down there working on their homework."_

"_Thanks," Jason said, starting to scoot around her. _

"_Hold on a moment, Jason," Mrs. Oliver said, stopping him. "You guys can work on homework down there as long as you stay quiet. Tommy should be lying down already. If he falls asleep, I want all of you to come back up here, alright?"_

"_Yes, Mrs. Oliver," Jason sighed, impatient to get downstairs._

"_Jason, listen to what you're told," Mrs. Rocca scolded behind him._

"_Sorry, mom," Jason mumbled._

_Satisfied, Mrs. Oliver let him go. Jason headed toward the basement as fast as he dared, not wanting to get another lecture about taking it easy. The rest of his family filed into the house behind him as he disappeared toward the basement. Waving at some of the other parents as he passed through the living room, Jason headed down the stairs. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he glanced over toward the couch. Adam, Rocky, Tanya, and Kat were sitting on the floor by the couch, quietly doing homework. Tommy was stretched out on the couch and it looked like he was asleep. As Jason stepped off the stairs, the others glanced up._

"_Oh, hey," Kat said. "Tommy, it's just Jason."_

_Tommy's eyes immediately flew open and he carefully shifted so he could see, grimacing as he did so._

"_Hey, Jase," he said. "My mom isn't following you, is she?"_

"_Nope," Jason said, walking over to join them. "Though she gave me strict instructions to go back upstairs the moment you fall asleep."_

"_Oh, she gave all of us those instructions," Tanya snorted. _

"_And she's come down to check at least twice," Rocky grumbled._

"_Which means Tommy keeps having to pretend to be resting," Adam sighed._

"_Like I can actually sleep right now," Tommy muttered, slowly sitting up. "I barely slept last night and they drugged me…"_

"_Yeah, you don't look so great," Jason said, shaking his head._

"_He looks awful," Kat said, moving to sit on the couch next to Tommy. "Jason, did you bring them?"_

_Jason nodded, reaching into his backpack._

"_Here you go, man," he said, handing Tommy his morphers. "This should make things a little better."_

_Tommy took them, sighing in relief as he slipped them on his wrists. Once they were both on, he flicked his wrists to make them disappear just in case someone came downstairs again. _

"_Yeah, that's better," he said. "Still kills, but it's better." _

"_Well, that's one thing that's better," Tanya said, shaking her head. "But what are we going to do? We're all grounded for weeks…"_

"_Tanya's right," Kat said quietly. "What happens when the Machine Empire sends another monster? We can't just let it go…"_

"_We won't," Tommy sighed. "We'll just be grounded longer…"_

"_Yeah, for the rest of our lives," Rocky grumbled. "What do you think the chances are of no monsters until we're ungrounded?"_

_The other five rangers looked at Rocky, raising eyebrows in response._

"_Slim to none," Adam said. "And with the way our luck has been going, one will probably show up tomorrow…"_

_They all sighed, thinking about just how hard the next few weeks were going to be. _

"_Well, we'll have to figure it out when it happens," Jason finally said. "For now, let's just hope we at least get a couple of days. Last thing Tommy needs is a cog or monster pounding on him while those ribs heal."_

_Tommy snorted. _

"_Like I'm going to just let them hit me," he retorted. "And besides, I'll be fine by tomorrow."_

"_Right," Jason said sarcastically, shaking his head. "Those ribs will be completely healed by tomorrow and you'll be ready to fight—"_

_Pounding footsteps on the stairs interrupted as Madison and Vida came rushing downstairs. Jason frowned at them._

"_What do you two want?" he asked, still irritated with them about the night before. _

"_We came to see what you were doing," Vida answered. _

"_Homework," Jason said shortly. "So go away."_

"_Why?" Madison asked. "We'll be quiet."_

"_Because I don't want you down here," Jason answered. "Go bug someone else."_

_Sticking their tongues out in unison, the girls spun and stormed back toward the stairs._

"_Man, Jason," Rocky said. "Your sisters are really annoying sometimes. How are we supposed to talk about anything if they're going to keep barging in on us?"_

"_You've got to be kidding," Jason snorted. "Rocky, you have seven younger siblings. We can barely hear ourselves at your house, let alone actually have a conversation about anything important."_

"_And you're being awfully rude," Madison added. _

_The girls, hearing Rocky's comment, had stopped. Vida was glaring at Rocky, who just shrugged off Madison's comment. Taking offense, Vida launched herself at him and tackled him to the ground._

"_Vida, you're not supposed to rough house, remember?" Madison scolded. "He has a concussion. You're going to be in trouble."_

"_Only if you tell," Vida retorted._

_Taking Rocky by surprise, the small ten-year-old had managed to twist his arm behind his back, successfully pinning Rocky to the ground._

"_Ow!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing? Jason, what have you been teaching them?"_

_Jason chuckled, shaking his head as he watched his sister attacking his friend. _

"_What do you think I've been teaching them?" he asked. "They need to know how to defend themselves. I'm not always going to be able to take a hit for them."_

_Tommy flinched and Jason gave him an apologetic look. He hadn't meant to remind Tommy of things past. _

"_Besides," he continued. "It's not just me. Tommy's been helping."_

"_Yeah!" Vida exclaimed in excitement. "He's the one who taught me this."_

_She let go of Rocky's arm, but he'd barely had time to move it when she jabbed the pressure point in the middle of his back. Rocky yelped in pain, freezing as she pressed as hard as she could against it._

"_Agh!" he cried. "Get off of me! You just paralyzed me!"_

_The other rangers started laughing, as did Madison. Tommy rolled his eyes._

"_She did not," Tommy said. "Give it a minute or two, the feeling will go away."_

"_Get her off!" Rocky demanded._

_Still laughing, Jason walked over and scooped Vida off of Rocky. He threw her over one shoulder as she protested. _

"_Man," Rocky grumbled, wincing as he tried to move. "That hurt…"_

"_Rocky, you just got beaten up by a ten-year-old girl who's not even half your size," Adam laughed. "I wouldn't complain if I were you."_

"_I have a concussion!" Rocky said defensively. _

_Adam rolled his eyes._

"_Oh yeah, sure," he said sarcastically. "You have a concussion. Just like I have a dislocated shoulder."_

_Rocky glared at him, but knew he was right. Since the concussion was minor, it had healed overnight. Not that they were about to tell his parents it was healed already. The same with Adam's shoulder. Though it was almost completely healed, he was still wearing the sling to keep up the act around their families. Kat, Tanya, and Jason were all in the same situation. Though their injuries may not have been completely healed yet, they weren't bad enough any longer that they needed to baby them. Tommy was the only one without the benefit of over twenty-four hours of healing time with the morphers. But they all had to keep up the act for secrecy's sake. _

"_I can dislocate it again for you if you'd like," Rocky growled, starting to get to his feet._

_Adam just laughed harder._

"_Bring it on, man," he said._

"_That doesn't sound like homework!" Mrs. Oliver's voice suddenly interrupted from the top of the stairs. _

_Kat immediately vacated her seat next to Tommy, dropping to the floor as he resumed his resting position in case his mother came down._

"_Do I need to come down there?" Mrs. Oliver asked._

"_No!" the rangers chorused. "We're working…"_

_Grumbling to themselves, the rangers got back to working on their homework. Madison and Vida started looking through games to find something to entertain themselves with while Jason and the others were working. Once he was sure his mother wasn't coming down, Tommy sat back up and the rangers continued their debate—just a little bit quieter and a lot more cryptically. _


	17. Chapter 17

Kim knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. From the cars in the driveway and parked on the street, she was the last one there. It didn't take long for the door to open.

"Hey, Kim," Jason said, holding it open for her. "We were starting to think you were going to miss dinner."

"Sorry," she smiled, stepping inside. "Got a little tied up. Now—where's the baby?"

Jason rolled his eyes, shutting the door behind her.

"Oh, good to see you too," he said.

"You know I'm happy to see you too," she said. "But seriously, where is she?"

"She does have a name," Jason said, raising an eyebrow as Kim kicked off her shoes.

Kim rolled her eyes.

"Ok," she said. "Where's Rose? I want to hold her."

Jason chuckled, shaking his head as he led the way down the hall.

"She's in the living room," he said. "Tommy's holding her. But good luck getting a turn. No one except Trini has been able to pry her away from Tommy all afternoon."

"Oh, is that so?" she said as they walked in.

The living room was full of people. Rocky and Adam were lounging on the couch while Zach was sitting in one of the arm chairs. From the voices coming from the kitchen, Kim guessed that Trini, Tanya, and Aisha were all working on dinner. The kids were running around, laughing and playing with their toys. Rocky and Aisha's identical twin boys, Jacob and Jonathan, were laughing and screaming as they ran around. The three-year-old terrors were having the time of their lives chasing six-year-old Mark around the couch in circles. Four-year-old Kenneth, Kat's son, was watching them with wide-eyes while one-and-a-half-year-old Trevor, Tanya and Adam's little boy, sat on the floor playing with a pile of blocks. But it was Tommy, sitting in the corner in another armchair, who caught Kim's attention. Kat was perched on the arm of his chair, cooing over the baby in his arms. Dodging around the kids, Kim headed straight for Tommy.

"Hey, Kim," he said, glancing up and smiling at her.

"My turn," she said, holding out her arms expectantly.

Tommy raised an eyebrow, making no move to hand over Rose. Kat rolled her eyes, standing up.

"Good luck," she said, shaking her head. "I've been here for hours and this is the closest I've gotten. He hasn't put her down except to let Trini feed her—he's even been changing diapers."

Kim looked at Tommy in surprise, but he just grinned as Kat walked away toward the kitchen.

"Tommy," she said, crossing her arms. "You can't keep her all to yourself."

"Sure I can," he said. "She's my goddaughter."

"So?" Kim said. "Just because Jason asked you to be godfather doesn't mean no one else gets to hold her. You know, there's a godmother, too."

She frowned, turning to look at Jason.

"So why didn't you ask me to be godmother?" she asked, the thought just occurring to her.

Tommy scoffed behind her, smiling down at Rose. Jason was looking at Kim, trying to come up with a quick answer.

"Like he'd ask anyone but Hayley," Tommy said. "Besides, you're Mark's godmother."

"You asked Hayley to be Rose's godmother?" Kim exclaimed.

"You know what?" Jason said. "I'm going to check on dinner."

He quickly spun and hurried out of the room as Zach, Rocky, Adam, and Tommy laughed. Kim turned back to glare at Tommy. But before she could start scolding him about monopolizing Rose again, Trini came walking in.

"Dinnertime," she said.

A short time later, they were all seated around the table in the dining room. Jason and Trini had purposefully chosen a large table when they furnished their house. It sat twelve, which accommodated the eleven rangers whenever they got together. It was harder to fit now that most of them had kids, but they made it work. Tommy didn't follow everyone else into the dining room, staying with the kids in the living room. The rangers had planned a late dinner, but made sure to have the kids eat earlier so they'd make it to bed on time.

"Isn't Tommy going to eat?" Kim asked, frowning as she glanced back in that direction.

Trini and Jason both shook their heads.

"He started a new pain medication for his ribs when he got back from Briarwood," Jason said. "So he really hasn't been hungry…"

"Tommy did eat lunch though," Trini quickly reassured the other rangers, seeing the looks on some of their faces. "He was the first one here today and joined us for lunch."

"And Hayley will make him eat something when he gets home," Jason chuckled. "But right now he's going to keep the kids busy so we can enjoy dinner. Besides, I can handle him not eating once in a while. I'm just glad the pain meds aren't knocking him out anymore. He's awake and that's what's important."

"Speaking of him being awake," Aisha said. "What exactly happened in Briarwood? I never did get the full story."

The others chorused in agreement.

"No kidding," Zach grumbled. "All I got was an email from Kim saying to get ready for Jason's funeral. No explanation. And I had to call four different people before someone finally picked up. It ended up being Jason who answered—and he didn't even give me the full story. Just told me something about Tommy and a spell and then gave me some lame explanation about wanting to spend time with his sisters before he died."

Jason shot a glare at him.

"Hey," he said. "I had threats coming from everyone—especially once they found out I wasn't planning on leaving Briarwood."

Kat and Kim smirked.

"So what happened then?" Rocky asked.

Jason sighed.

"Alright," he said. "Let me start from the beginning…"

* * *

"You two really shouldn't be allowed to go anywhere by yourselves anymore," Tanya said a little while later, shaking her head.

Jason had just finished going over events in Briarwood. He'd made it through with minimal interruptions, mostly because he'd ignored the outbursts of the other rangers.

"Tanya's right," Kat agreed. "Tommy's a magnet for magic—"

"And Jason's one for trouble," Kim inserted.

Everyone laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Well, it shouldn't be a problem anymore," Jason said, glaring around the table. "Cause Tommy isn't going back there."

Trini sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Jason, you can't keep him away from there," she pointed out. "He's a grown man who will do what he wants—and he's just as worried about Vida and Madison as you are."

"Not to mention he's part of the standby team," Adam added.

"But I'm not saying a chaperone would be a bad idea," Trini continued, smirking. "For you, too, if you decide to go for another visit. I do not want to get another phone call telling me you've been injured—or worse, captured or brainwashed by some spell."

Jason sighed. They were pretty much done with dinner, so they started helping Trini clean up and get things in the dishwasher.

"So we all agree, right?" Aisha said, looking around.

"Agree with what?" Rocky asked, frowning as he handed his plate to her.

Aisha rolled her eyes, taking a pile of plates over to the dishwasher.

"That Jason and Tommy need to be supervised if they go to Briarwood again," she said.

"Right," Rocky agreed. "I'll go!"

Sighing, Aisha went back to cleaning up.

"So, where's Hayley tonight?" Adam asked, grabbing the rest of the dirty dishes off the table.

"A pipe burst at the café," Jason answered, helping Trini with the leftover food. "She was planning on coming, but she had to wait for the plumbers."

"So why didn't she just come later?" Rocky asked, frowning.

"We would have waited to eat," Tanya added.

"Her car isn't working right now," Trini answered. "And Tommy didn't want to wait for the plumber—he wanted to get here first so he wouldn't have to share Rose."

The rangers all shook their heads.

"I'll bet Hayley isn't too happy about that," Zach snorted. "He's going to be in so much trouble when he gets home."

"You said it," Jason laughed. "And this time she can't blame me—it's all on Tommy."

Once they were all done putting things away, the whole group headed into the living room. They all still wanted a chance to hold Rose before they left and it was getting close to bedtime for the kids. But when they walked into the living room, no one was there.

"It has been quiet, hasn't it?" Kat commented, looking around. "Where did Tommy take the kids?"

"They can't have gone too far," Adam said. "Maybe upstairs?"

Jason shrugged. Turning, he led the way up the stairs toward Mark's room—the most likely place for Tommy to have taken them since that was where most of the toys were. The door to Mark's room was open, as was Rose's room across the hall. When the rangers peered into Mark's bedroom, they found Tommy and the boys. Tommy was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. There was a rather large collection of toy dinosaurs on the floor in front of him and he was playing with Mark, Kenneth, and the twins. Trevor was asleep curled up in Tommy's lap.

"Ohh…That's so cute," Kim smiled.

The other girls nodded in agreement as the guys shook their heads. Tommy glanced up at them, putting a finger to his lips.

"Shhh…" he said, nodding toward the door. "Rose is asleep."

Trini looked at him in surprise, glancing behind her toward her daughter's room.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"Aww…but we never got to hold her," Kat sighed.

"Well we aren't waking her back up," Trini said firmly. "You'll have to wait until next time."

"Besides," Jason said, chuckling as he watched the kids with Tommy. "You've all got kids of your own that look ready for bed."

Mark was the most awake out of all four of the boys. Kenneth, Jacob, and Jonathan were all starting to droop, though the twins were fighting really hard to stay awake. They were determined to stay up and play.

"Alright," Aisha said, walking into the room. "Time to go home."

Her boys turned, giving her identical looks of displeasure. Identical in nearly every way, most days it was hard for some of the rangers to tell them apart. Aisha and Rocky almost always knew which twin they were identifying, as did Tommy. Everyone else generally went by the color the boys were wearing. Jacob had a fondness for red while Jonathan preferred blue.

"Mom is right," Rocky agreed, following. "Come on, Jake. You too, Jon."

Reaching down, he scooped both of them up.

"We'll come play again soon," he promised.

But the boys, despite protests, were already nodding against his shoulders. Aisha smiled as she took Jonathan from him.

"We'll see you guys later," she said. "It's almost past their bedtime."

As they moved out of the way, Tanya moved forward to get Trevor from Tommy.

"Come on, sweetheart," she murmured. "We're going to get you in your own bed."

He just snuggled in closer to her shoulder, his eyes staying firmly shut.

"Thank you, Tommy," she smiled.

"Anytime," he said, slowly getting back to his feet. "Mmm…Foot is asleep…"

Adam chuckled, reaching out to help Tommy the rest of the way up. Once he was sure Tommy wasn't going to just fall back over, he and Tanya said their goodbyes and headed out the door.

"Alright, sweetie," Kat smiled, crouching down and holding her arms out to Kenneth. "It's your bedtime, too."

Kenneth stood up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her neck. She hugged him close as she got back to her feet.

"I'll walk out with you," Kim said. "Bye guys. Take care of yourself Tommy."

He just smiled in response, watching them go.

"Guess I'd better be heading out, too," he said to Jason, starting to limp toward the door.

Jason frowned as Trini moved to start getting Mark ready for bed.

"Hey, bro," he said. "You're not going to fall down the stairs, are you?"

Tommy rolled his eyes.

"No," he said as he kept going.

Jason kept following anyways, leaving Trini to laugh at the pair of them.

Downstairs, Kim and Kat got their things together and walked out to the cars. Kenneth was mostly asleep against Kat's shoulder.

"So how long are you going to be in town?" Kim asked, glancing over at Kat.

"Just the rest of the week," Kat said. "I have to meet back up with my dance company for the rest of our tour. I already missed one show to come back for Tommy…Though I guess the timing worked out well."

Kim laughed, nodding.

"It did, didn't it?" she said. "You got to see the baby—well, sort of…And we all got to spend time together."

"Mmm hmm…" Kat said. "Alright, Kenny. In your car seat now."

She opened the door. As she started to get him situated, he woke back up a little.

"Wanna play with Uncle Tommy…" he mumbled, yawning.

"Next time," Kat promised. "And then we can stay longer, ok?"

The little boy nodded sleepily. Once he was buckled in, Kat shut the door.

"Tommy really is great with the kids," Kim commented, glancing back toward the house.

"Yeah, he is," Kat agreed softly. "He really should be a dad…"

Kim's face lit up.

"We should talk to Hayley," she grinned. "Do you think she's still awake?"

"Probably," Kat said. "But I don't think tonight would be the best time to bring that up…"

"Why not?" Kim frowned.

Kat smiled, shaking her head.

"She's bound to be mad at Tommy for leaving her in Reefside, remember?" she said.

"Oh, right," Kim said. "How about this weekend? Before you leave, of course. We can get together for lunch and give her a call."

Laughing, Kat nodded.

"It's a deal," she said. "We can set plans tomorrow, alright?"

Hugging each other, the two women said goodbye for the night.

Back inside, Tommy had made it down the stairs without an incident—even with Jason hovering right behind him the entire way.

"You good to drive home?" Jason asked as he watched Tommy putting on his shoes.

"Yeah," Tommy said. "Besides, if I don't come home tonight Hayley might come out here after me—car or no car."

Jason chuckled.

"She'll just take one of those cycles you have hidden away," he said. "Or one of the raptors."

"Or she'll call Anton and borrow a car," Tommy said drily, glancing up at Jason. "Anyways, you need to stop being so paranoid. I'm fine. And you and Trini both need to get some sleep before Rose wakes you up in a few hours."

"Yeah," Jason sighed. "I'd forgotten how little sleep there is in a house with a new baby…"

Tommy laughed, straightening up with a slight wince.

"Well, then get sleep while you can," he said. "And I'll be by again soon—with Hayley this time."

"Alright," Jason said, nodding. "Good luck with Hayley."

Tommy rolled his eyes as Jason grinned.

"She won't kill me yet," Tommy said over his shoulder as he headed for the door. "I haven't finished fixing her car."

Jason started laughing, following him to the door.

"And why not?" he chuckled. "It used to just take you a few hours to fix up a car."

Tommy paused, shrugging.

"Waiting on a part," he answered. "Her water pump is shot and they didn't have the right part at the store. We ordered it but it hadn't come in as of this morning. So there's not a whole lot I can do until we get that part."

Jason nodded in understanding.

"Anyways," Tommy said, heading toward his Jeep. "I'll see you later, Rex."

"See you later, Falcon," Jason said.

Turning, Jason headed back inside as Tommy climbed into his Jeep and drove away.


	18. Chapter 18

_**After Muranthias**_

_Jason sighed, opening the front door and heading into the house. He'd been trying to distract himself all afternoon, but it hadn't been working. Even karate hadn't been helping. Kicking off his shoes into the front closet, he headed down the hall toward the stairs._

"_Mom, I'm home!" he called toward the kitchen as he walked._

_He had intended to head straight up to his room, but a familiar voice in the kitchen made him freeze. His mother wasn't the only one in there. Poking his head inside, he grimaced when he saw Tommy sitting at the kitchen counter laughing. Madison and Vida were nowhere in sight, but he was sure they were around somewhere. Mrs. Rocca and Tommy both glanced around to see Jason standing in the doorway._

"_Hi, sweetheart," Mrs. Rocca smiled. "Why don't you come on in?"_

_Jason just shook his head, looking at Tommy. _

"_What are you doing here?" he asked, frowning. _

"_Waiting for you," Tommy answered, standing up. "I decided to help your mom make cookies while I waited. Want one?"_

_He held out a cookie, but Jason didn't budge._

"_Great," he said. "Well, I'm here, so you can leave now."_

"_Jason!" Mrs. Rocca exclaimed. "Don't be rude. Tommy has been waiting for you for hours."_

"_Sorry," he muttered. _

_Mrs. Rocca glared at him._

"_Now why don't you two head on up to your room until dinner is ready?" she said to Jason. "I'm sure you haven't had nearly enough time to catch up since you came home again, Jason."_

_Taking a deep breath, Jason spun and stalked toward the stairs. Tommy shrugged and followed after him. After giving up the gold ranger powers, Jason had left to return to the peace conference for a while. But the conference was over now and Jason, Trini, and Zach were all back in Angel Grove. They'd only been back for a couple of weeks though. Tommy hadn't even known they were coming back until he and the other rangers found out that Divatox had kidnapped Jason and Kim, both of whom had been coming to surprise the rangers with a visit. And it was the whole Island of Muranthias thing that had Jason all on edge. Up in Jason's room, Jason tossed his bag on his bed and spun to face Tommy as he followed him inside. _

"_Why are you here?" he demanded._

_Tommy rolled his eyes, shutting the door behind him. _

"_Looking for you," he said. "You've been avoiding me since Muranthias. Why?"_

"_Because I almost killed you!" Jason exclaimed. "That's not supposed to have happened."_

_Tommy sighed, shaking his head._

"_Jase, it's been happening for as long as we've known each other," he pointed out. "Look at how we met."_

"_It doesn't matter," Jason retorted. "I'm not even a ranger anymore. It never should have happened."_

"_You're always going to be a ranger, Rex," Tommy said. "Whether you're fighting as one or not. We heard what happened while you guys were on that ship. You got Bulk, Skull, and Kim out."_

"_Yeah, but I couldn't get myself out," Jason snapped back. "And look where that went. They put me under a spell and I almost killed you."_

"_And everyone keeps saying the so-called 'Oliver guilt complex' is bad," Tommy muttered, shaking his head. "Listen to yourself, bro. You're just as bad. Would you let it go? I had a couple of bruises. So what? They're gone now and I'm fine."_

"_And if Kim hadn't snapped me out of it we both would have fallen in that lava," Jason growled._

"_You know, you're just as bad as Kim," Tommy muttered. "And once I'm done dealing with you, I'm going to corner her, too."_

_Jason snorted._

"_Good luck with that," he said. "She took off as soon as we got back from the island. Kim is gone."_

_Tommy groaned._

"_Great," he said. "Just great. How am I supposed to talk to her if she's not even in the same state?"_

"_You aren't," said Jason, crossing his arms. "And you shouldn't be talking to me. Tommy, I nearly killed you!"_

"_But the point is you didn't," Tommy said. "We're all fine. Except you. It's been two weeks, Jase. You can't avoid me forever."_

"_Wanna bet?" Jason growled. "Kim is managing it."_

"_Jason—" Tommy said._

"_No!" Jason exclaimed. "Tommy, I almost—"_

_The door to Jason's room burst open and Madison and Vida came bouncing in. _

"_Time for dinner," Madison announced. _

_Tommy and Jason had both frozen, turning to look at the girls. The twins were looking at them in surprise._

"_Guess it's time for me to go then," Tommy said, looking at Jason. "See you around."_

_He spun, heading for the door._

"_You are not leaving!" Jason shouted, stalking after him. "We are not done talking about this yet. You know I'm right about what happened."_

"_Bye, Jason!" they heard Tommy call back._

"_No!" Jason exclaimed, disappearing out his door. "You are staying for dinner and then we are continuing this conversation. You do not just get to blow off me almost killing you!"_

_Madison and Vida exchanged confused looks as the two boys disappeared._

"_What are they talking about this time?" Madison said._

"_Who knows?" Vida shrugged as they headed toward the stairs themselves. "They're weird. Always have been, always will be. I will never understand their cryptic conversations."_

"_Neither will I," Madison sighed. "I hope we're never like that when we're their age…"_

_Vida laughed, nodding in agreement as they headed down to dinner. _


	19. Chapter 19

"How nice of you to bring me the gift of your legend powers," Imperius laughed.

The rangers, having been captured and dragged down to the underworld, were now trapped. Struggling to get away, they glared at Imperius.

"You're not getting anything from us," Vida growled.

"Oh, it's not for me," Imperius responded. "It's for the Master."

In the circular depression in front of them, an eye suddenly appeared. A low rumble, like a growl, accompanied it. The rangers stared in shock and horror, still trying to break themselves free.

"That's the thing Leanbow sacrificed himself to defeat," Nick exclaimed.

"Leanbow?" Koragg muttered, studying them.

Imperius shook his head.

"That name is not spoken here," he snapped, done gloating. "Now you will give the Master the power to rise up and conquer."

He pointed at them and the rangers gasped in pain as their power suddenly started draining from them. They cried out even as they tried to resist, but to no avail. And, as power drained from them, the presence of the Master grew stronger.

"How delightful!" Imperius exclaimed.

Off to the side, Leelee watched in concern as she stood by her mother. The rangers had been promised to her as pets once their power was gone. They had all been shocked to learn that Leelee was Necrolai's daughter.

"They'll be alright, right?" she asked anxiously, glancing at Necrolai.

"Of course," Necrolai reassured her.

"The Master will soon rise," Imperius intoned, watching the proceedings in glee.

Koragg shook his head, not happy with how things were actually going.

"They cannot defend themselves," he said disapprovingly. "There is no honor in this defeat."

"Stop that foolish babbling!" Imperius ordered. "This is our day of victory! This is the end of the Mystic Force."

The rangers were getting weaker as more and more power drained from their bodies. Then there was a bright flash of light.

"Stop!" Udonna cried, appearing in the room.

Her spell cut off the drain on the rangers' powers, though they were still trapped in place.

"Udonna!" Madison exclaimed, panting.

"How touching," Imperius sneered, blocking the ineffective spell she cast at him. "The sorceress comes to save her little rangers. Now you'll feel the wrath of the master."

Behind Udonna, red streaks of magic burst from the gateway to the Master. The magic latched on to the sorceress and she cried out in pain.

"No!" Vida cried.

All of the rangers watched in horror as Udonna writhed on the ground in pain, the magic of the Master slowly killing her. Koragg was watching Udonna, shaking his head. But no one had noticed he was suddenly behaving very oddly.

"Behold her destruction," Imperius laughed.

"No!" Koragg shouted, leaping forward. "Udonna!"

He broke the Master's hold on her with his sword. The breaking of the spell freed the rangers as well and they collapsed to the ground. Lights flashed and glowed around Koragg as he stumbled forward a few feet. But as he straightened up, he was no longer Koragg. Someone else was standing where the Master's loyal servant had stood. Turning, the man looked at Udonna and the rangers.

"What?" Imperius cried in shock. "No! It can't be!"

"Who's that?" Xander asked.

"Leanbow?" Udonna breathed, answering Xander's question as she stared at the man in shock.

The man, Leanbow indeed, nodded.

"I don't know how to explain," he said. "But it's true. I am alive."

"This is unbelievable," Madison gasped.

"No, this is one of Koragg's tricks," Nick growled.

Imperius threw off the shock of seeing Koragg turn into Leanbow and turned on the rangers again.

"Leanbow survived but not Solaris Knight!" he cried. "Now, to finish what I've started!"

He went to attack the weakened rangers and Udonna, but Leanbow got in the way, casting a spell to take them out of the dark underworld. They found themselves in another dimension. It was a dry landscape, rocks dotting the area.

"We'll be safe in this dimension for a while," Leanbow said, turning to look at the rangers.

They all eyed him warily, not sure what to think.

"Okay, am I the only one confused by what's going on here?" Xander asked, looking at the others.

They shook their heads.

"I'm a little mixed-up myself," Vida frowned.

"Let me get this straight," Chip said, steping up. "Leanbow was Koragg, and Koragg was Leanbow, and one of them—or both of them—just saved our lives."

Leanbow nodded. But Nick scoffed, pushing forward.

"Wait, wait, wait," he said shortly. "This is the same guy who's been trying to toast us for months. How can we trust it's really Leanbow?"

Leanbow sighed, bowing his head.

"You're right," he admitted. "I don't blame you for not trusting me."

Udonna started shaking her head, moving forward. She was still looking at him as though she was afraid he'd disappear again in an instant.

"I trust you," she said firmly. "I know it's you. What happened?"

Leanbow took a deep breath, moving to sit on a nearby rock as he told his story. The rangers sat down, too.

"My tale is so incredible I'm not sure I believe it myself," he said, shaking his head. "It happened in the last battle of the great war."

Udonna nodded.

"You closed the gates to the underworld and we all thought you were gone forever," Udonna said.

"Yes, but that's when the story just begins," Leanbow explained. "My plan worked and the Master was sinking down into the depths, but he used the last of his dark magic to take me with him and turn me into Koragg, the Knight Wolf. His most obedient soldier. I had no memory of my previous life. Everything I did was for the Master."

The rangers frowned. His story did seem unbelievable. All of them stayed back, not ready to accept his word quite yet.

"But you remember now," Chip said suspiciously.

Leanbow nodded.

"It must have been the virus that infected my titan mode," he said. "It began to break the memory spell."

A couple of the rangers nodded hesitantly. They remembered that fight and how his zord had fallen, but it was still difficult to believe he might actually be on their side.

"Then you must remember how many times you tried to destroy us and Udonna, your own wife," Nick spat. "You almost destroyed her, and then stole her snow staff. Does that ring any bells?"

Leanbow sighed, bowing his head again.

"Yes," he said gravely. "I remember it all. And I cannot tell you all how sorry I am…"

"Nick," Udonna said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No one could withstand the full power of the Master's dark magic."

"If there was any way you could forgive me," Leanbow said, looking at them pleadingly. "All of you…"

Udonna smiled.

"Of course, I…" she cut off, collapsing.

"Udonna!" Nick exclaimed, catching her.

Leanbow, who had leapt back up, hurried to her side.

"You're injured," he said in surprise.

Udonna nodded, wincing in pain.

"I… used the book of dark magic to get to the underworld," she said slowly. "I'm afraid I'm as vulnerable as any human now."

"You shouldn't have done that," Leanbow sighed.

But they were interrupted by a nearby explosion that rocked the ground.

"Imperius has found us!" Leanbow exclaimed, glancing at Udonna. "I'm sending you back to Rootcore."

She shook her head, clinging to him.

"Oh, no," she said. "No. I don't want to lose you again."

"You're in no condition to fight," Leanbow said, not budging.

"For once we agree," Nick said, glaring at him. "Send her."

Udonna sighed, but nodded. Leanbow took a step back from her and uttered a spell. Udonna disappeared from sight as the rangers turned their attention back to the pending fight.

"There you are," Imperius cried. "Get them, Chimera!"

"My pleasure!" Chimera hissed.

Imperius, Necrolai and Chimera—the creature formed from the souls of every opponent Leanbow had defeated—strode toward them. Leanbow stood in front of the rangers, prepared to join them in the fight.

"Ready yourselves!" Leanbow said to them. "Aaahhh!"

He cried out in pain, dropping to the ground. But the rangers didn't have time to worry about him for the moment.

"Let's do it!" Chip exclaimed.

"Magical source, Mystic Force!" they cried.

As they attacked Chimera, Necrolai grabbed Leanbow.

"I always knew you couldn't be trusted," she hissed. "Come! You have an appointment with the Master."

The rangers, struggling against Chimera, fell back. Several of them hit the ground, panting as they got back to their feet.

"Leanbow!" Vida cried as they disappeared.

"Stop!" Xander exclaimed.

But it was too late. Leanbow was gone.

"We don't need him anyways," Nick growled. "We'll beat him ourselves! Power of the Phoenix!"

Nick attacked Chimera, but was thrown backward. He hit the ground hard, rolling. The other rangers ran to help him.

"Nick!" Xander exclaimed, dropping down next to him. "Get up!"

Before the rangers could get back up, Chimera attacked again. But the attack was thwarted by another spell. They turned to see a familiar figure charging out of a dimensional portal on a unicorn.

"Now what?" Imperius cried.

"Daggeron!" Nick exclaimed in relief.

"But I destroyed you!" Imperius shouted.

Daggeron stopped next to the rangers. Chip was the first one to his feet.

"Oh, cool!" he said, limping forward as Daggeron dismounted.

"Rangers, the unicorn's name is Brightstar," he explained quickly. "She can travel through all dimensions. If you run into trouble she can combine with your megazord. Now hurry!"

He put himself between Imperius and the rangers, throwing up a shielding spell to protect them from Imperius' dark magic. Brightstar's horn glowed and suddenly the rangers and the unicorn were gone.

"You won't get away," Imperius growled. "Chimera!"

Chimera vanished as well, leaving Daggeron to face Imperius.

The rangers found themselves in yet another dimension. They took a moment to try and recover, looking around warily.

"I can't believe Leanbow—" Nick started to say.

But they were interrupted by a loud roar as the ground shook. Chimera had found them—and now he had grown to a towering size.

"Here we go," Xander said as they spun to face him.

"I got this one!" Nick exclaimed, leaping up onto Brightstar's back.

"Nick, wait!" Madison cried as he took off toward Chimera.

"What are you doing?" Chip exclaimed. "We can't use the manticore!"

But Nick didn't stop.

"But I can still make a megazord!" he shouted back. "Come on!"

Using Brightstar as Daggeron had said, Nick combined his Phoenix zord with the unicorn to form a new zord. He charged into battle with Chimera. But Chimera was not an easy opponent.

"Over here!" the other four cried, flying in with a second zord to distract Chimera.

He grabbed their zord. Flipping it, he slammed them into Nick and then blasted both zords, sending them flying. The other four lost their forms, leaving Nick to fight alone again.

"This one is as stubborn as Leanbow," Chimera said, talking to itself. "Let's take our revenge on him! Yeah, crush him!"

The different heads on its body agreed with each other. Nick shook his head.

"I'm nothing like him!" he snarled, charging back into the fight.

But he was thrown again and sent crashing to the ground.

"Get up and fight!" a familiar voice growled.

The rangers looked to see Koragg in his zord form standing there. Leanbow had been turned again.

Back at Rootcore, Clare was trying to tend to an injured Udonna. As she came back in the room, she saw Udonna up and moving toward the mystic globe.

"Leanbow!" she cried, stumbling.

"No," Clare said, rushing to her. "Udonna, you need to rest. Please."

But Udonna was determined and brought up a view of the fight.

"No!" she exclaimed. "They've turned him back to Koragg."

Taking hold of Udonna, Clare gently guided her to one of the couches to lie down.

The rangers stared at Koragg in shock—betrayed despite never fully committing their trust to Leanbow.

"Koragg!" Nick shouted. "I knew you were lying!"

"Let this be our last fight!" Koragg growled.

"Fine, but after I finish this freak!" Nick snapped, spinning to face Chimera again.

"Never!" Chimera shouted, shooting a spell at Nick.

Nick blocked it with his sword. Summoning all the energy he could, he started shoving the dark magic back toward the creature. He broke the spell and launched an attack of his own.

"Final strike!" Nick called. "Yeah!"

Chimera fell and Nick turned to face Koragg, ready to fight to the finish this time. They fought hard and after a hard strike, both lost their zord forms.

"This isn't over," Koragg snarled, getting to his feet.

"Whatever you say!" Nick snapped back, getting up and charging back into the fight.

They fought with their swords, neither one ready to give up. The other rangers, back on their feet now, moved in closer.

"Nick!" Vida exclaimed as they all watched.

The fight continued.

"Is that all you've got?" Koragg scoffed.

"Hardly!" Nick snarled.

The two fighters were near to matching each other in skill, neither one taking an immediate advantage.

"They're a pretty even match," Vida said in surprise.

"Like they can anticipate each other's moves," Xander said slowly.

Then Koragg got an advantage on Nick. He knocked the sword from Nick's grasp and sent him flying. Nick hit the ground, pushing up on his elbows as he glanced over at his sword. With Koragg still armed and standing over him, there was no possible way for him to reach his sword in time. The other rangers watched in horror.

"You don't have a chance without your sword," Koragg said, pointing his own blade at Nick. "Now, pick it up. I won't fight an unarmed opponent."

"You got it!" Nick exclaimed, racing to his sword.

He took it back up, facing Koragg. Nick's anger was more obvious now than ever. But Koragg didn't immediately move to attack.

"You're too angry," Koragg said, studying him. "You must learn to control your emotions."

"There were so many times you could have destroyed us and you didn't," Nick said. "Tell me why!"

"I know why," Madison said from the sidelines. "Because there is a part of him that is still good."

"Part that's still Leanbow," Xander added.

Koragg and Nick just watched each other for a moment, neither one making a move.

At Rootcore, Clare had coaxed Udonna into lying down and resting. She was fussing over her as Udonna mourned Leanbow's return to Koragg.

"The master has control over Leanbow again," she said sadly. "Either my husband will destroy the rangers, or they will destroy him. All is truly lost."

Clare shook her head.

"Don't talk like that," she said firmly. "You were the one who said that, if you believe in magic, then anything is possible."

"But my magic is gone," Udonna sighed.

"You may not be a sorceress anymore," Clare said, laying a red blanket over Udonna. "But you will always be magical."

Udonna frowned, looking at the blanket in surprise. She sat up, staring at it in her hands.

"This blanket," Udonna said, glancing up at Clare. "Where did you get it?"

Clare looked at her in confusion.

"From Nick's backpack," she answered. "I'm sure he won't mind if we borrow it."

Udonna smiled, getting back to her feet and hurrying toward the door. Clare spun in surprise.

"Wait!" she cried. "Where are you going?"

"I do believe!" Udonna said, pausing at the door. "I believe in magic!"

Clare laughed, smiling as Udonna left.

The respite in the fighting didn't last long. Nick and Koragg charged each other again, neither one holding anything back. But Nick, already weakened from being drained of his legend powers and fighting Chimera, was starting to slow down.

"No rest," Koragg growled, not giving Nick a chance to orient himself.

As Nick charged again, Koragg caught him with a strike to the leg. Nick fell to the ground. He started to push himself up with his sword, but he was exhausted.

"Leanbow exists only in memory," Koragg growled. "I am Koragg now and forever. Wolf attack!"

The attack struck Nick, too wearied to dodge it, straight on. The resulting explosion sent him flying and he hit the ground hard, de-morphing. As he groaned on the ground, Koragg stalked toward him.

"You have fought with honor," said Koragg. "But now the battle is over."

Nick pushed himself backward, one arm wrapped around himself as he panted, looking up at Koragg as he moved in to finish the fight.

"Since you have proven to be a worthy opponent," Koragg continued, reaching Nick and putting his sword to the red ranger's throat. "I will grant you a swift end."

Drawing back his arm, Koragg started to swing toward Nick. The other rangers, too far away to stop it, ran toward them anyways.

"Leanbow, stop!" Udonna shouted, appearing out of nowhere. "Don't do it!"

Koragg froze, turning to look at her in shock. Udonna ran forward and grabbed his arm, shoving it down. Nick looked up at her in surprise as the other rangers came to a halt, not sure what to do.

"This is Bowen," Udonna said, glancing between Nick and Koragg. "Your child. Our child."

Nick's eyes widened as the other rangers gasped.

"What?" Koragg hissed.

"What are you saying?" Nick asked, shaking his head as he started to get to his feet.

Koragg made no move to attack, struggling with himself as Udonna stood ready to stop him again. She smiled as she turned to look at Nick.

"You were with me all along and I never knew," she said softly. "It's truly magical."

Koragg shifted, sheathing his sword. Hesitantly, he reached a hand out toward Nick.

"My—my son?" he stammered.

Nick drew back, confusion playing across his face. Koragg, shaking his head, stepped away, not taking his eyes off of Nick. Groaning, Leanbow once again threw off the armor of Koragg. He was free again. The rangers sighed in relief.

"And I thought my family reunions were weird," Chip said, shaking his head.

Now that there was no longer an immediate threat, Udonna turned back to Nick.

"I am your mother," she said again. "It's true, Nick. I knew there was a reason you came to Briarwood. It was to fulfill your destiny: the greatest wizard of them all."

Nick chuckled faintly, still in shock over the revelation.

"This is gonna take a little while getting used to," he finally said.

Udonna and Leanbow both smiled. But then the ground started shaking and several large red tentacles burst from the ground. The Master was rising.

"Come on, rangers!" Vida exclaimed.

They started to move forward.

"No!" Leanbow said, casting a spell to keep them away. "This is my battle. I must finish what I started."

The rangers couldn't move closer, so all they could do was watch as Leanbow walked toward the Master alone.

"Ancient mystic mode!" he shouted.

"No!" Nick cried.

"You can't!" Vida shouted.

"Leanbow, don't!" Udonna begged.

But he didn't pause, charging in to fight the Master as he rose.

"Back to the depths, foul beast!" he said.

"No!" Vida shouted again.

"Leanbow!" Udonna cried.

They watched as he used his power to force the Master back down below the ground. They listened to the fight they could no longer see. Then they heard Leanbow shout to them from the pit.

"_Power rangers! Carry on my legacy!" _he cried, his voice far away.

The rangers watched in shock. He was gone. Then five streaks of power flew from the pit—the legend powers returning to the rangers.

"Our legend warrior powers—they're back," Xander said.

"But Leanbow is gone…" Udonna said slowly, still clutching Nick's blanket.

By the time they all got back to Rootcore, Daggeron was waiting for them. He told them what had happened after they separated—that he'd fought in bound battle with Imperius and won. Another of their enemies was destroyed. Most of the rangers, exhausted from the long day, said their goodbyes and headed home for the night. But Nick lingered—too much on his mind to try and sleep at the moment. As he sat on the steps, staring, Daggeron sat down next to him to talk.

"Imperius may be gone, but his departure is just the beginning of our journey," he said, looking at Nick. "Your father said many times—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Nick interrupted, shaking his head. "You're telling me this like I care about him. Please. He may have been my father, but I just spent the last few months stopping him from destroying the world."

Daggeron sighed.

"And the world would have been destroyed if he hadn't—" Daggeron started to argue.

But Udonna walked in and they both stopped, quickly getting to their feet.

"That's what I like to see," she smiled. "Everyone happy and enjoying the day. But, Bowen, didn't I ask you to clean this place up?"

Nick sighed.

"This is great," he muttered. "I finally found my real mom and two seconds later I'm getting chores."

Udonna raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, you are," she said. "I want this place cleaned before your father comes home."

Nick frowned. Daggeron glanced between the two of them and then turned, heading out of the room.

"I think I'll go feed Fire Heart," he said as an excuse.

Once they were alone, Nick turned to Udonna.

"Uh, mom?" he said hesitantly.

Udonna smiled, turning to look at him again.

"Leanbow's not coming home," said Nick.

Udonna shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course he is," she insisted.

Nick gave a look of complete disbelief.

"No, I have not lost my senses," she said. "If you'd have asked me yesterday I would have given you a different answer. Yesterday, I thought that both you and Leanbow were both lost forever. But I'd forgotten that magic works in many ways—not just waving a wand, but also in ways of the heart. So, yes. I don't know how or when, but Leanbow will be coming home. Now, clean up this room."

Shaking his head, Nick shrugged and got to work.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Intervention Part 1**_

"_Do you really think this is a good idea?" Justin asked, glancing back at Hayley as they climbed the stairs. "He did cancel after all."_

_She had just picked Justin up for the weekend and they were now at Tommy's apartment for a study session. Tommy had introduced Justin and Hayley not long after he met her during the fall semester. He had thought she'd be great for helping Justin out. Still technically in high school, Justin was taking advanced classes with college level material. And that was on top of starting high school early. The two had hit it off right away and soon all three had started having regular study sessions every few weeks or whenever they could get Justin from Angel Grove. But Tommy had started canceling sessions here and there and then, quiet suddenly a few months before, he'd started canceling all of them. Justin had continued to meet with Hayley, but neither one had seen Tommy for nearly a month. _

"_Yes, it's a good idea," Hayley said, stalking down the hallway. "I don't care what excuses he comes up with, he's done avoiding us. If Tommy doesn't want to see either of us anymore he's going to say so to our faces. Besides, if he keeps missing classes and assignments like this he's going to fail and I'm not about to let that happen."_

"_Alright," Justin shrugged, still hesitant. "But how are we going to get in if he decides not to answer the door?"_

_Hayley smirked and pulled a key out of her pocket. _

"_He left a spare with me months ago," she said. "I was going to beat him here for a project we were working on and he didn't want me to have to wait in the hallway. So he gave me the spare to get in and then forgot to get it back."_

_Justin laughed as they approached Tommy's door._

"_Sounds like Tommy," he said._

_Hayley knocked on the door and they waited for an answer, but there was no response. Frowning, she waited a few moments before trying again with the same result. Tommy wasn't answering the door. _

"_And now we'll let ourselves in," she announced, unlocking the door and pulling it open. _

_Once the door was open, she strode inside with Justin right behind her. They both froze in shock when they saw Tommy sitting on the couch. Paper balls were shooting across the living room accompanied by small flashes of green light._

"_What on eart—" Hayley started to exclaimed._

_But Justin whipped around and started pushing her back out the door. _

"_Not good, not good, not good," he said. "Quick—out! Out, out, out, out, out!"_

_Once they were both out in the hallway, Justin slammed the door shut. He took a deep breath, shaking his head. _

"_This isn't good," he muttered. "I should call someone—we should really call someone…"_

"_Call who about what?" Hayley exclaimed. "Justin, what was that?"_

"_Nothing," he said evasively. "Jason—I need to call Jason."_

_Hayley frowned at him._

"_Jason?" she said. "As in Tommy's best friend from high school?"_

"_Yeah, him," Justin said distractedly. "I need to call him—do you have a phone?"_

_He looked up at her hopefully._

"_Yes," she said slowly. "But why are we calling him?"_

"_Because I need to," Justin said. "Oh, wait…I can't use your phone. I don't know his phone number…"_

"_Why do you need to call him?" Hayley repeated. _

"_Tommy needs help," Justin said, looking at the door. "I'm going to need his phone…But where is Tommy's phone?"_

"_In his apartment," Hayley said slowly._

_Justin sighed._

"_Yeah, I know," he mumbled. "I just don't like it."_

_He started reaching for the doorknob, but paused._

"_You're going to have to cover me," he said. "But if anything really bad happens, run. I can handle myself—I hope."_

"_Cover you from what?" Hayley asked in surprise as he opened the door._

"_Tommy," he answered, darting inside. _

_Watching from the doorway, Hayley kept an eye on Justin as he slipped around Tommy's apartment in search of his cell phone. Tommy didn't look at him at all, which surprised her. He was usually a lot more aware of his surroundings. Finally finding it on the end table next to Tommy, Justin darted forward and snatched it before bolting back out the door. Hayley shut it again as he sighed in relief. _

"_Ok, what is going on?" Hayley asked, crossing her arms. "Why are you so skittish of Tommy all of a sudden? And what is he doing in there?"_

"_It's nothing," Justin said. "I'm going to call Jason. Maybe you should go work on your project. Isn't it due at the end of the week?"_

_Hayley shook her head._

"_I'm not worried about homework right now," she said. "Besides, seeing Tommy and now your evasive behavior is just confirming my suspicions. I would like a verbal confirmation, however."_

"_Of what?" Justin frowned. _

"_That I figured out the puzzle correctly," she said._

_Justin shifted nervously._

"_What puzzle?" he asked slowly. "We weren't working on a puzzle."_

_She sighed._

"_Tommy was doing magic, wasn't he?" she asked._

"_Ummm…well, he…" Justin stammered, trying to evade the question. _

"_Are you really going to try and deny it?" Hayley asked, hands on her hips._

"_Deny what?" Justin said, giving her an innocent look. _

"_So you're trying to tell me that Tommy isn't doing magic in there?" she said. "Oh, and how about telling me he wasn't involved in the whole Power Ranger thing in Angel Grove. He was the green ranger, right?"_

_Justin's eyes widened in surprise._

"_Uh…oh boy," he muttered. "Well, I can't exactly deny the whole magic thing—you kind of saw that…"_

"_Uh huh," Hayley said, crossing her arms. "And the rest of it? He is—well, was—a power ranger, right?"_

_He laughed nervously, not meeting her eyes._

"_What makes you think that?" he asked. "Does Tommy really come across as a guy who would run around in a—umm… spandex—suit?"_

_Hayley rolled her eyes. _

"_Justin, he was a power ranger," she said. "And so was Jason. Red, right? I've only seen a few pictures of him but I'm pretty sure that's correct."_

_Justin groaned._

"_Jason's gonna kill me," he muttered, shaking his head. "I am so dead… No one is supposed to know…"_

"_Oh, relax," Hayley reassured him. "I'm not going to tell anyone."_

"_He's still not gonna be happy," he grumbled. "And I have to tell him cause if he finds out later I'm really gonna be in trouble…Guess I might as well get it over with…"_

_Sighing, he found Jason's number on Tommy's phone and dialed. Jason answered after just a few rings._

"_Jason!" Justin exclaimed. "It's Justin."_

"Hey, kid," _Jason said. _"What are you doing on Tommy's phone? Are you over there for the weekend?"

"_Yeah, but that's not why I'm calling," Justin said. "There's a problem, and it involves Tommy…And it's a big problem…"_

_Jason groaned. _

"Who did what to Tommy this time?"_ he asked. _"Did someone kidnap him again or has he been brainwashed?"

"_Neither," Justin said quickly. "That's not the kind of problem I'm talking about. I actually know right where he is right now. He's in his apartment sitting on the couch."_

"Then what's the problem?" _Jason asked._

_Justin took a deep breath._

"_Actually, there're a couple of them…" Justin said, glancing at Hayley. "So do you want the bad news or the worse news?"_

_Hayley frowned at him but he ignored her._

"What do you mean by 'bad or worse'?" _Jason growled._

"_Ok, so maybe that's not the best way to explain it because I'm not exactly sure which one is worse at this point," Justin said. "But neither one is really a good thing so—"_

"Justin!" _Jason snapped._

"_Oh, right, sorry," Justin mumbled. "I guess I'll start with what Tommy is doing first because I can tell you about the other one while you're on the way here."_

"Justin, are you going to tell me what's going on?" _Jason exclaimed in exasperation. _"Why I am going to be coming out there?"

"_Because I'm not strong enough to deal with Tommy on my own," Justin burst out. "And I don't think he'd hesitate to hurt me right now."_

"I thought you said he wasn't brainwashed!" _Jason exclaimed. _

"_He isn't!" Justin protested._

"Then what on earth are you talking about?" _Jason asked. _"Tommy would never hurt you on purpose."

"_Well, I doubt he's actually thinking straight right now," Justin mumbled. "Tommy's using magic again…And he was in such a trance that he didn't notice me stealing his phone—"_

"What?" _Jason shouted into the phone, making Justin jump. _"He's not supposed to be doing that. He said he was done!"

"_I know," Justin said. "But I saw him, Jason. And I think it's worse than it was…He's been canceling study sessions for weeks now. The last time I was here was for a week over Christmas break. And I barely even talk to him on the phone anymore. He cancelled this study session with a text—no explanation."_

"Where are you?" _Jason asked sharply._

_Justin could hear him moving now and the sound of keys jingling in the background._

"_In the hallway outside his apartment," Justin answered. _

"Good," _Jason said. _"Don't go back inside for anything. I'm getting help and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"_Got it," Justin said. "We'll stay right here and wait."_

"Wait a minute—we?" _Jason said suspiciously. _"Who is 'we'? Does that have anything to do with the other thing you were going to tell me?"

_Justin froze._

"_Oh, right," he said. "Umm… Have you met Tommy's friend Hayley?" _

"No, but I've heard about her," _Jason said. _"Why?"

"_Well…she's kind of part of the other problem," Justin said. "A big part of the problem."_

"Oh, great," _Jason muttered. _"She's not pregnant, is she?"

_Hearing part of Jason's comment, Hayley's eyes narrowed as she glared in the general direction of the phone. Justin looked at her with wide eyes, shaking his head._

"_From the look she's giving you right now I'd go with no," Justin said quickly. "And that's not even close to what I was talking about anyways."_

"Wait a minute," _Jason growled. _"She's there?"

"_Yep," Justin confirmed. "And she may have seen Tommy. She also may have figured out—well, everything else…"_

"What 'everything'?" _Jason asked slowly._

"_Well, she knows you're the original red ranger," Justin mumbled._

_The line was silent for a moment._

"_But it's all Tommy's fault!" Justin burst out before Jason could say anything. "She said seeing him use his magic was the last clue she needed. I swear I never said anything to her."_

_Jason took a deep breath._

"Just keep her there," _he snapped irritably. _"I'll deal with her after I make sure Tommy is alright."

"_Yeah, I don't think you need to worry about her leaving," Justin said, glancing at Hayley._

_Still glaring, she'd planted herself in front of Tommy's door and sat down. _

"Fine," _Jason said shortly. _"You hold tight, kid. We're on our way."

_Jason hung up. Taking a deep breath, Justin turned and sat down next to Hayley. _

"_So," she said. "How long have you known about Tommy being a power ranger?"_

_Groaning, Justin let his head fall back against the door. _

"_Hurry up, Jason," he mumbled. _

_When Jason arrived about an hour later he had Adam, Tanya, Rocky, and Zach in tow. They found Justin and Hayley still leaning against the door. Justin had been dodging Hayley's questions as best he could while they waited. _

"_Rocky!" Justin exclaimed when he saw the group coming down the hallway. "Guys, you're here! You have no idea how glad I am to see you."_

_He jumped up to greet them in excitement. _

"_How are you holding up?" Tanya asked, hugging him._

"_Better now that you guys are here," he answered, glancing back at Hayley. "Hayley is—persistent…"_

_The five rangers turned their attention to Hayley. She was standing now, looking at them expectantly. Jason glared at her, but she just glared back._

"_Tanya, stay out here with them," Jason said shortly. "I don't know how Tommy is going to react to us interrupting him, but we need someone to guard the door. I'll deal with this situation after. Tommy is our first priority."_

_Tanya nodded as Jason pulled open the door._

"_Be careful," she said, an arm around Justin's shoulders._

_Nodding, Jason headed inside followed by the other three men. They shut the door behind them. After a moment shouting started and they heard a loud crash. All three in the hallway flinched at the sound._

"_Tommy is going to be ok, right?" Justin asked anxiously, looking up at Tanya._

_She sighed._

"_I hope so," she said softly. "But this magic thing is new…No ra—none of us have ever had this kind of problem with magic before…"_

_Hayley frowned._

"_What exactly is going on with Tommy?" she asked. "I haven't seen him in weeks and now this is happening. What is so bad that all four of them are necessary to intervene?"_

_Tanya hesitated for a moment._

"_I really don't know how much I should tell you," she finally said. "Other people aren't supposed to know about any of this…"_

_Justin nodded in agreement._

"_I only found out cause they didn't know I was hiding under Rocky's hospital bed," Justin added. "Boy was he surprised to see me when I crawled out."_

_Hayley raised an eyebrow at him._

"_Let's save the rest of that story for another time," Tanya said hastily. "For now Hayley, if you could be patient with us. Jason will—well, I'm actually not sure what he's going to tell you, but we can talk more after Tommy is—under control…"_

_Sighing, Hayley nodded. There was still shouting inside though they couldn't make out any of the actual words. Justin decided to peek inside to see how things were going. He pulled open the door and stuck his head inside. Letting out a yelp, he leapt away from the door as Rocky came crashing through it. He slammed into the wall on the other side of the hall and slumped to the ground, groaning._

"_Rocky!" Justin exclaimed, running over to him._

_Tanya was right behind him. Hayley looked back and forth between Rocky and the door in surprise. With the door open they could see Jason, Adam, and Zach struggling to pin Tommy down. His eyes flashed green. _

"_Shut the door!" Tanya exclaimed. _

_Hayley quickly pulled the door shut. _

"_Oh, this is going well…" she said, shaking her head. _

"_Could be worse," Justin said, glancing back at her from where he was crouched next to Rocky. "He hasn't morphed."_

_Hayley blinked in surprise. Rocky was sitting up now, leaning against the wall and holding his head. Shifting again, he grimaced. _

"_He can do that?" she said. "He's still a ranger?"_

"_Technically, no," Tanya answered as she examined Rocky's head. "He is not an active ranger anymore. But once a ranger, always a ranger. And Tommy's been a ranger for a long time—it's a part of him in more ways than any of us could ever understand."_

"_So he can still morph then?" Hayley said._

"_Yep," Justin nodded. "It just takes a lot more energy than it used to. Can't draw directly from the grid anymore when you retire as a ranger, so the morphers draw on your own life energy—which is why it would be bad for him to morph…"_

_Hayley frowned, glancing toward the door. _

"_Rocky, I'm pretty sure you have a concussion again…" Tanya sighed._

"_Yeah, I think you're right," he winced._

"_Should we take him to the hospital?" Hayley asked. _

"_No!" all three exclaimed._

_Tanya shook her head as Hayley looked at them in surprise. _

"_Concussions aren't something to just ignore," she frowned. "They can be serious."_

_Justin snorted._

"_It's just a concussion," he said. "He's fine. Rocky's had worse. Besides, he's still conscious."_

"_We avoid hospitals as much as possible," Tanya explained. "It's just easier to take care of these things ourselves. Plus there are a lot of things we just wouldn't be able to explain…Like the signs of a concussion disappearing within a few hours…"_

"_Well, that would explain why Tommy avoids doctors like the plague," Hayley mused. _

_Tanya nodded._

"_Yes," she said. "We—well, we heal at a faster rate than most humans. It's more effective when we're morphed, but some of the healing ability lingers even when we aren't actively rangers anymore. So, while extremely important for when we're battling some monster, it makes things tricky when it comes to normal human injuries—especially things that would usually be considered serious. Like Rocky's concussion. He's had a lot of them over the years. We all have."_

_The door opened again and both Justin and Tanya instantly tensed, staying crouched near Rocky. But it was just Jason. He was wiping some blood off of his lip with the back of his hand from where someone—probably Tommy—had split it open._

"_It's safe to come in now," he said, walking out to help Rocky out. "How's your head, man?"_

"_Don't ask," Rocky mumbled, stumbling to his feet. "The guy shouldn't still be able to hit that hard—he wasn't using morphers! Or is he wearing Zeo?"_

_Jason shrugged, not sure of the answer. _

"_Yeah, well, he won't be hitting anyone for a few minutes," Jason said grimly, holding on to Rocky as he led the way back inside. "He used too much energy and nearly passed out." _

_Tanya gasped as Hayley, bringing up the rear, shut the door behind them. Tommy was sitting on the couch, leaning against the back with his eyes closed. Adam and Zach were hovering next to the couch, ready to react if he moved. _

"_Oh Tommy," Tanya murmured, heading straight for the couch. "What are you doing to yourself?"_

_His clothes were rumpled and he looked a lot thinner than he should. It was clear to all of them that he hadn't been taking very good care of himself recently._

"_Be careful," Adam warned as Tanya started to sit next to Tommy. "He's worn down, but still conscious and extremely unhappy with us."_

_She nodded but sat down anyways. Tommy immediately jerked away, his eyes flying open as he glared around at the group._

"_Tommy, are you alright?" Tanya asked, hesitantly reaching toward him._

"_I was until all of you showed up," he snarled, swatting her hand away. "Why are you even here?"_

"_Justin called for help," Jason growled, crossing his arms as he glared down at Tommy._

_He'd helped Rocky to the armchair next to the couch and moved to stand in front of Tommy._

"_He and Hayley showed up for a study session," he continued. "They found you in a trance playing with magic."_

"_I cancelled that!" Tommy snapped, turning his glare on Justin and Hayley. "I suppose that means you stole my phone, kid, cause I know you don't have Jason's number—or your own phone."_

_Justin ducked his head, flinching at the accusatory tone in Tommy's voice. Hayley frowned at Tommy, but he ignored her. Rocky pushed himself out of the chair and walked over to Justin, putting an arm protectively around the boy's shoulders._

"_Lay off, Tommy," he said sharply. "Justin was right to call us. You have a problem."_

"_The only problem I have is you guys breaking into my apartment!" Tommy exclaimed._

"_They didn't," Hayley scoffed. "I unlocked the door using the key you gave me."_

"_You stay out of this," Tommy snarled at her. "This has nothing to do with you. You shouldn't even be here. And this has nothing to do with the rest of you either!"_

_Jason shook his head._

"_You've lost the right to decide that," he said._

"_Jason's right, man," Zach agreed. "You're not thinking straight anymore."_

"_I'm fine!" Tommy insisted._

"_Tommy, you're not supposed to be using that magic," Adam said, shaking his head. "It's not good for you and you know that. You admitted as much after Christmas when we first found out you were having problems with it."_

"_It drains your life-force, Tommy," Tanya added softly. _

_Tommy rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he scowled at her._

"_I can use it just fine in small doses," he said. "So go away."_

"_This isn't small doses anymore!" Jason exclaimed. "Look at yourself. You're out of control, Tommy—it's killing you!"_

"_I have everything under control!" Tommy shouted, clenching his fists. _

_He started to leap up off of the couch, but Zach caught his shoulder and shoved him back down._

"_Don't touch me!" Tommy said harshly, throwing Zach's hand off. "And all of you leave me alone. I don't need your help. Everything is under control."_

"_Tommy, you threw Rocky out of your apartment—literally!" Jason snapped. "That is not under control."_

"_I wouldn't have done anything to him if he'd just minded his own business," Tommy snarled. "Just like the rest of you. You're just getting what you asked for."_

"_Listen to yourself!" Jason exclaimed in frustration. "Can't you hear how you sound right now?"_

"_Tommy, you don't really want to hurt us, right?" Justin asked quietly._

"_I just want everyone to leave me alone!" Tommy snapped at him. "So go away!"_

_Rocky's grip tightened around Justin's shoulders as his gaze hardened. He scowled at Tommy, who just glared back. _

"_Too late for that, bro," Jason said, shaking his head. "You're addicted and you've already proven you can't break out of it on your own like you claimed. You can't be alone anymore—and that's not a choice."_

"_What is that supposed to mean?" Tommy scowled._

_Jason took a deep breath. While all of the rangers were focused on Tommy, Hayley pulled out her phone and disappeared from the room. _

"_It means I'm moving in so I can keep an eye on you," Jason said shortly. "I know you're not going to admit to being addicted, but it's obvious to the rest of us. And I'm not about to let you kill yourself over this."_

"_I don't need a babysitter!" Tommy yelled._

"_No, you need help," Zach countered. "Jason is right. You shouldn't be alone right now."_

_Tommy scoffed._

"_I'll just have all of you kicked out of the building," he growled. "None of you have any right to be here without my permission."_

_He stood, facing down Jason who stayed right where he was. The two men glared at each other._

"_And just how are you going to do that?" Jason scoffed. "We're not letting you out of here to talk to anyone right now."_

_Tommy smirked. _

"_How about I start by taking my phone back from the kid?" he said. _

_Jason's eyes widened as Tommy spun and made a grab for Justin. Rocky moved him quickly out of the way as Justin let out a yelp of surprise. Adam, Zach, and Jason grabbed Tommy again and shoved him back down on the couch. Tanya stood up, moving to stand by Justin as Rocky moved a little closer to Tommy, still hovering between him and Justin. _

"_Tommy!" Jason snarled, holding him pinned against the back of the couch. "You need to snap out of it before you seriously hurt someone!"_

"_And you need to leave me alone!" Tommy shouted back, shoving Jason away from him. _

"_I'm not going anywhere," Jason growled._

"_Sorry to interrupt," Hayley said, drawing all of their attention. "But I have something important to say."_

_She was holding her phone, which was currently on mute._

"_Tommy," she said, looking straight at him. "I just spoke to your mother about what's going on."_

_Everyone froze, looking at Hayley in complete shock._

"_Oh, relax," she said, rolling her eyes. "I told her he was addicted to the pain meds from his accident last year, not to magic."_

_The previous summer, before the beginning of the fall semester, Tommy had been in a rather serious racing accident. He'd been released from the hospital after a week or two, but he'd scared all of them. Starting his first semester of college while recovering from the accident had been difficult, but that's when he'd met Hayley. She was in several of his classes and they'd gotten along from the start. Hayley helped Tommy with homework or projects when he needed it and he did the same with her. Then he'd introduced Justin and the three had all started studying together. _

"_She says you have two choices," Hayley continued. "Either Jason is moving in with you or she's coming to get you and you're moving home until you're over it. And good luck explaining any of this to her."_

_Tommy glared daggers at Hayley but didn't say anything._

"_She's waiting for an answer," Hayley smirked, waving her phone._

"_Fine!" Tommy shouted, getting to his feet again. "Jason, you can stay. Happy?"_

"_No," Jason snapped. "But it's a start."_

_Tommy stormed toward his bedroom, slamming the door behind him, as Hayley walked away to tell Mrs. Oliver his answer. Jason sighed, running a hand over his head._

"_Umm…Shouldn't we go after him?" Zach asked hesitantly, watching Tommy go._

"_Not yet," Jason said. "Give him a few minutes to cool down."_

_Hayley came walking back to join them, tucking her phone away._

"_Great cover," Adam said approvingly. "And Mrs. Oliver is one of the tougher moms to fool."_

_Jason nodded in agreement._

"_Not bad," he said. "But that doesn't mean I'm alright with this yet."_

_Hayley rolled her eyes as he turned to the other rangers. _

"_Alright guys," he said. "We need to find his morphers. Anyone know where he stashes them?"_

_Justin slowly raised his hand._

"_I do," he said hesitantly. "He showed me over Christmas break when I stayed with him for a week. Said I could keep mine there while I was visiting. Said it would be a good thing to know in case of emergency."_

_Hayley frowned._

"_You were a ranger," she said flatly._

_Justin shrugged sheepishly, grinning at her._

"_I should have known," she sighed. "But really—he's thirteen!"_

"_And he was twelve when he started," Rocky said. "Justin's a good ranger. He knows what he's doing and he doesn't back down from a fight if it's necessary."_

"_He's thirteen," Hayley repeated. "And you let him fight with you."_

"_You don't choose to be a ranger," Jason said gruffly. "You're chosen. The only choice you get is whether to accept it or not."_

"_Jason's right," Zach said. "Just look at Tommy. He's been a ranger for years. Five different teams since he moved to Angel Grove—and he led most of them."_

"_Well that explains several odd gaps," Hayley muttered to herself. "But I still don't think it was a good idea to let Justin fight with you. He's half your size for goodness sakes!"_

"_Not as a ranger," Justin grinned. "When I morph the grid accelerates my body's age to match everyone else's. Evens the playing field a little. I'm also one of the only ones with an active morpher—well, kind of. It's technically retired now, but at least it isn't broken like some of the others' morphers."_

"_You're going to have to explain how that works," Hayley said, looking at him in surprise. "The aging thing and the grid."_

"_But not right now," Jason growled. "Justin—where are those morphers?"_

"_Oh, right," Justin said._

_Spinning, he darted over to the TV stand. Reaching behind, he snagged a small, black lockbox and straightened back up. He brought it back over to Jason as he entered the combination on the lock._

"_Here," he said. "They should all be in there. Tommy wanted to keep them safe."_

_Jason nodded, taking the box. Opening it, he started sifting through the contents to count the morphers._

"_White tiger coin," he muttered. "Turbo key, ninjetti coin—oh, great…"_

"_What's wrong?" Tanya frowned._

_Jason sighed, closing the box again and handing it back to Justin._

"_The green power coin and Zeo morphers are missing," he said grimly, striding toward Tommy's door. "Which means he has them."_

"_Aw, man," Rocky muttered._

_The rest of the rangers groaned in agreement and followed Jason. Justin trailed behind with the box, Hayley walking with him. Jason pounded on Tommy's door._

"_Open this door!" he demanded. "You have to give me those morphers!"_

"_Go away, Jason!" Tommy shouted back. _

_Taking a deep breath, Jason turned away._

"_Anyone know how to pick a lock?" Zach asked. "Cause I don't want to have to pay for breaking down that door…"_

"_Why is it so important that you get those morphers?" Hayley asked, crossing her arms._

_Jason turned to look at her. _

"_Because," he said after a moment. "If we don't get them away Tommy is going to be able to continue to draw on their power to boost his energy. If he tries morphing with them, it'll drain him quickly. But as long as he is just wearing them as a connection to the grid he'll be able to keep using magic without feeling as drained—and that's what's going to kill him. He won't realize how much he's drained himself until it's too late. That magic is tied directly into his life-force now. And at this point the only way we're going to be able to stop him from using it is to get all of the morphers away from him."_

_Hayley nodded._

"_Fair enough," she said. "Just a moment."_

_Hayley spun around and walked over to the door. She had dropped her bag on the floor just inside. After rummaging inside for a moment, she straightened up and strode up to Tommy's door. But instead of trying to pick the lock like they expected, she started fussing with the hinges. As the rangers all watched in surprise, she unscrewed both hinges from the wall with a small screwdriver and popped the lock, letting the door fall to the ground as she stepped out of the way. Tommy whipped around in shock as the door hit the ground, his gaze landing on Hayley. Snarling, he leapt to his feet and stormed straight toward her. Adam grabbed Hayley from behind and pulled her out of harm's way, moving to a safer distance. Justin, also standing a little too close, the lockbox still in hand, was pulled backward by Tanya as Jason, Rocky, and Zach intercepted Tommy to take away his morphers. _

"_I can take care of myself," Hayley protested, extracting herself from Adam's grip._

"_Against him?" he said grimly, turning to go help with Tommy._

_Hayley turned to look and saw Tommy fighting the other three tooth and nail. Jason grabbed Tommy from behind as he spun, hooking his arms under the other man's shoulders. Zach and Rocky each grabbed an arm, holding on tight. Tommy's eyes were flashing green again. _

"_Someone grab the coin!" Jason exclaimed. "It's in his pocket!"_

_Adam started to leap toward them, but Tanya was closer. She darted in to snatch the green power coin out of Tommy's pocket as the three men held him as best they could. Tanya got it, but before she could move completely away Tommy managed to twist himself and land a hard kick to her side. Stifling a cry, she stumbled away and Adam caught her._

"_I'm fine," she winced, straightening up. "Go help them."_

_Tommy, even angrier now that they'd taken his coin, had broken away from the other three. They were circled around him now, keeping him from getting close to Hayley, Justin, or Tanya and keeping him by the doorway of his bedroom. _

"_Too slow, Tommy," Jason taunted as Tommy swung at him and missed. "You're losing your edge."_

_Tommy snarled and swung again, but Jason just dodged out of the way. Adam joined and the four rangers continued to work together. But they weren't physically attacking Tommy. Instead they had switched to taunting and insulting him, trying to get a reaction._

"_What are they doing?" Hayley exclaimed. "I thought you wanted him under control—this is not going to help."_

_Tanya nodded, taking a deep breath and wincing. She put a hand to the side of her ribcage as she handed the coin to Justin to put away. _

"_We do," she said. "But first he needs to lose control—sort of."_

_Hayley just stared at her in confusion. Tanya sighed._

"_He's wearing his Zeo morphers," she said. "And the only way for us to get them is for him to call them first."_

"_Call them?" Hayley frowned._

"_Yes," Tanya nodded, holding out her own wrists. "See? I'm wearing mine right now."_

"_I don't see anything," Hayley said, looking at Tanya's bare wrists._

_Tanya flicked both of her wrists and the morphers appeared._

"_That's amazing!" Hayley exclaimed. "How do they do that?"_

_She took Tanya's wrist, trying to examine the morpher. But Tanya pulled her hand away and flicked her wrists again so the morphers disappeared. _

"_Beats me," she shrugged. _

_The four men were still taunting Tommy, but he still hadn't made a move to morph. _

"_It's something to do with the morphing grid," Tanya said, watching them in concern. "But the point is, the only way to take them from him is for him to call them first. We can't do it for him. And the only way he's going to do that right now is if he's angry enough to fight with them. He may not be thinking clearly, but he knows it's a bad idea to morph as a retired ranger—except in dire emergencies—so it's going to take some convincing…"_

_Hayley nodded._

"_That makes perfect sense now," she said, studying Tommy. "Just give me one moment."_

_Turning, she rushed over to the kitchen. Tanya frowned, but kept her attention on the fight. Justin stayed next to her, holding tightly to the lockbox. _

"_Come on, Tommy," Rocky smirked, leaping out of the way of a kick. "You've got to be able to do better than that as our so-called-leader. You can't really be this out of practice already, can you? At this rate even Justin could take you down and he's barely half your size."_

"_I don't know," Zach grinned. "I think Hayley would work just fine—and she doesn't even have powers."_

_As Tommy lunged toward Zach, Hayley came stalking back over with a glass of water in hand. Without pausing, she walked right up to the fight and tossed the contents of the glass in Tommy's face. Everyone froze in shock._

"_Stop throwing a temper tantrum and go take a shower," Hayley said calmly, eying Tommy. "You need one."_

_Turning around, she strode away again. Behind her, Tommy exploded in anger. The glass of water had been the last straw._

"_You're going to regret that," he snarled, flicking his wrists. "Zeo Ranger F—"_

_He was cut off as all four of the other men grabbed him, preventing him from morphing. _

"_I was kidding about Hayley doing anything," Zach grunted as Jason pulled the morphers off of Tommy's wrists. "But I guess it worked."_

_With both morphers in hand, Jason turned and tossed them to Tanya. She snatched them out of midair and turned to Justin._

"_Open the box," she said quickly. "And change the code."_

_He already had it open so she stuck the morphers right inside._

"_Already changed," he confirmed, locking the box. "And I'm keeping the number to myself."_

"_Those are mine!" Tommy shouted, struggling to free himself. "You have no right to take them!"_

"_Sorry, bro," Jason said, trying to help pin Tommy again. "But it's for your own good."_

"_Get off of me!" Tommy roared. _

_His eyes flashed green again as he shoved them off. Before the other four men could catch their balance, Tommy shot streaks of green magic at each of them. The attack caught them off guard and sent all four flying backward in different directions. Rocky flew further into Tommy's room, hitting into the wall by the bed and cracking his head against the wall again. Adam slammed into the doorframe with a cry and fell to the ground. Zach went flying out into the living room, tumbling over the couch and crashing into the coffee table. Jason was thrown toward the kitchen, nearly knocking Tanya, Hayley, and Justin off of their feet as he hit the floor and went sliding into the counter. They leapt out of the way in shock, turning to look at Tommy. He was stalking toward them now, his gaze focused on Justin who was clinging to the lockbox. Tanya shoved Justin and Hayley behind her, holding a defensive position as she faced Tommy. Jason was pushing himself to his feet, but he wasn't close enough to reach the out-of-control ranger._

"_Tommy, please stop," Tanya pleaded, holding out her hands. "You aren't yourself. Snap out of it!"_

"_You can't stop me," he scoffed. "Ninja Ranger Power Now!"_

_Coin or no coin, he morphed into his ninjetti form. Tanya reacted by calling her Zeo morphers back, ready to morph if he wouldn't stop. Tommy was stumbling a little now, though he seemed determined to retrieve his morphers no matter the cost. _

"_Tommy, no!" she exclaimed, backing up and pushing Justin and Hayley back. "Please don't make me fight you!"_

"_Give me back my morphers," he growled, not pausing._

_Tanya took a breath to begin her morphing sequence, but Tommy stumbled again, barely catching himself. Putting a hand to his head, he swayed as he tried taking another step. But he'd used too much energy. De-morphing, he collapsed to the ground and didn't move. Jason, who had finally made it to his feet, stumbled toward them._

"_Tommy?" Tanya said hesitantly, taking a step toward him._

_But he didn't move. Jason reached him first, dropping down next to him. He carefully reached out to touch Tommy's shoulder, ready to move if Tommy lashed out at him. _

"_He's out cold," Jason said grimly when Tommy didn't react to his touch at all. "He went too far…"_

"_Can you get him off the floor?" Hayley asked. "I'd say a hospital visit was in order—"_

_Jason shot a glare at her which she returned._

"_But I understand why that is a bad idea in this particular situation," she finished, crossing her arms. _

"_Yeah, just keep that in mind," Jason growled. "It's not your life that's going to be put on display if we're outed—just ours. No one else gets involved in this."_

_She rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Adam and Rocky, both moving slowly and clearly in some pain, joined them. Zach wasn't far behind. He was holding his left arm close, trying to stop the gash he'd gotten on the coffee table from bleeding all over everything. Tanya eyed him as Rocky and Adam helped Jason get Tommy up off of the floor._

"_Zach, go clean that up," she ordered._

"_But the bleeding is already stopping," he protested. "I brought my morpher, remember? It's fine."_

"_I don't care how fast you heal," she frowned. "You still need to clean that and wrap it before you get blood all over anything."_

_Grumbling, Zach limped off toward the bathroom. The other three had pulled Tommy up with some effort and were moving him over to the couch. As Zach passed Hayley, he paused._

"_By the way," he said. "You are either a mad genius or a really bad friend—I was not expecting that whole water bit out of you."_

_She smirked as he continued toward the bathroom._

"_It's definitely mad genius," she said. "I do have an IQ of 185 after all."_

"_Mine's only 163!" Justin exclaimed, looking at Hayley in surprise. _

_She smiled at him, shrugging. The three men had gotten Tommy on the couch, carefully laying him down as they tried not to aggravate their own injuries._

"_I wish we could take him to the Command Center…" Adam said, shaking his head as he looked at Tommy. "We'd at least be able to take readings on him to make sure he's going to be alright…"_

"_Well, we can't," Jason said roughly. "It's gone—and so is the Power Chamber. We're on our own this time."_

"_Not completely," Zach said, walking out of the bathroom. "We still have Billy. He knows how all of that stuff ran and how to build most of it. He's bound to know how to build a scanner."_

"_He's also completely out of our reach," Jason pointed out. "He can't build one we can use."_

"_Not completely," Justin said, shaking his head. "Tommy has a transmitter. We used it over Christmas break so Billy could help with a project I was working on for school. He was a great help."_

"_Billy?" Hayley frowned, interrupting. "I haven't heard about a Billy."_

_The rangers exchanged glances. _

"_Well, there's a reason for that," Jason said. "But you're about to meet him. Justin, can you get Tommy's computer set up with the transmitter? Send Billy an emergency alert—he'll answer quickly."_

"_On it," Justin grinned, darting away toward Tommy's bedroom. _

_He came back out a moment later holding the laptop and a small square device. Hayley looked at it curiously as he set it down next to the computer on the coffee table._

"_What exactly is that?" she asked._

_Justin glanced up briefly and then went back to what he was doing on the computer._

"_It's a interplanetary transmitter," he said. "Billy made them to make staying in contact with him easier. It bounces the signal of the video call through several strategically placed satellites that boost the signal enough to get it all the way to him."_

"_Wait a minute," Hayley said, raising an eyebrow. "Interplanetary? Where exactly does he live that you need that kind of equipment to get him a message?"_

"_Aquitar," Zach sighed. "Been there for a few years now…Kind of wish he'd come back home…"_

_Hayley raised an eyebrow._

"_Aquitar?" she repeated, looking around for an explanation._

"_Billy lives on another planet right now," Jason said. "These calls are our only form of communication with him."_

"_Oh," Hayley said in surprise. "Well, I guess that makes a lot more sense."_

_Jason nodded, still watching what Justin was doing on the computer._

"_Message sent," Justin said, looking up at him. "It shouldn't be more than a few minutes for him to at least send a message back—if not just call us."_

"_Good," Jason said, glancing over at Tommy again. _

_Tommy hadn't moved since they'd laid him down on the couch. Tanya had sat down next to him. She was taking careful breaths as she checked on Tommy._

"_How's he doing?" Jason asked._

_She sighed, shaking her head._

"_I don't know…" she answered. "He's breathing normally enough, but he's really pale…This fight wasn't good for him…"_

"_It wasn't good for any of you," Hayley pointed out. "Tommy is a fifth degree blackbelt—not to mention he just threw four of you across his apartment. Rangers or no, there's no way you can tell me you aren't feeling that."_

"_Bruises go away," Adam shrugged, wincing with the movement. "So do cuts and concussions and broken bones. It might take a little while, but all of those things heal eventually. But Tommy's been draining his life-force. That doesn't just go away. And if he's taken it too far…"_

"_Then it may already be too late," Jason said grimly, looking down at Tommy. _

_The room fell silent again. All of them were extremely worried about Tommy. Then the computer started beeping and everyone's attention turned there as Justin connected the incoming call. Billy appeared on the screen, looking at them in concern._

"_Greetings," he said quickly, fixing his gaze on Jason. "Jason, what is the emergency?"_

_Jason moved so he was closer to the computer, grimacing as he crouched down next to Justin._

"_Hey, Billy," he said. "We have a problem—and we're going to need your help."_

"_What is the problem?" Billy asked._

_Jason took a deep breath, glancing behind him._

"_It's Tommy," he said. "The dark magic inside him. He's become addicted to it and it's starting to control him. He's unconscious now, but he attacked us when we tried to snap him out of it. Billy, he's killing himself and we have no way to see what damage has already been done or if it's too late—"_

_Jason cut off, taking another deep breath. Billy's face was grim as his eyes flickered toward Tommy on the couch._

"_This is indeed a dilemma," he said after a moment. "Approximately how long has this been happening?"_

_The rangers exchanged glances, trying to come up with a time period._

"_He was fine over Christmas break," Justin finally said. "I think…I guess looking back he was a little off sometimes, but nothing bad enough that I really noticed. It was after that when he started canceling everything and not seeing anyone anymore."_

"_And we did catch him using magic once or twice over the summer and fall," Jason said slowly. "Just little things spread out over long periods of time. Someone scolded him and that was that—but that didn't start until after he'd passed his powers to TJ right after graduation."_

"_And then he had his accident," Adam added. "He was in the hospital for a while."_

_Billy nodded._

"_It is possible Tommy was not prepared for dealing with the magic without the backing of active ranger powers," he said. "And after his accident he would have been weakened and unable to fight it as effectively. That is probably when the magic began taking hold of him again. We need to see just how strong of a hold it has right now—do you have access to any kind of scanner?"_

_Jason shook his head._

"_Nothing," he said. "Everything of ours was destroyed with the Power Chamber and I have no idea what kind of equipment Andros has on that spaceship of his. I doubt we could even find pieces of any of the original equipment now. Do you have anything left at your lab at your dad's house?"_

"_Negative," Billy said, shaking his head. "All of the functioning equipment was relocated to the Power Chamber before I departed for Aquitar to allow all of you easier access. The only things I left at the house were unnecessary parts and unfinished projects—things that couldn't link back to the rangers in the state they were in."_

"_So then what do we do?" Tanya said quietly. "Tommy could be—"_

_She cut off, looking down at the floor._

"_I wish Zordon was here," Zach said. "He would know what to do…He always knew how to fix everything…"_

"_I want him back, too, Zach," Jason sighed. "But until Andros and the others find him, we're on our own."_

"_I'm sorry," Hayley said, speaking up. "But who is Zordon?"_

_Billy looked around in surprise, trying to place the unfamiliar voice. Hayley moved into the view of the camera, waving at Billy. He stared back with eyes wide._

"_It's alright, Billy," Jason said, shooting a glare at Hayley. "She's a friend—I think. I'm still deciding how much I trust her."_

_She raised an eyebrow at that._

"_Zordon is our mentor," Zach said, answering her question. "He's the one who made us rangers. He chose us and taught us."_

"_He's the one who brought all of us together," Tanya added. "And he's always been the first one to help us when we had a problem."_

"_And now he's gone…" Rocky said quietly. "Stolen from us while we couldn't do anything to stop it."_

"_Zordon would have been able to help Tommy…" Justin mumbled. _

_They all fell silent for a moment. Billy sighed, rubbing a hand across his forehead. _

"_Perhaps if you can gather the necessary components I can direct you in constructing a basic scanner," he said. "It would not be as functional as we are all accustomed to, but it would serve our purpose."_

_Jason frowned._

"_Billy, what kind of construction are we talking here?" he asked. "Just basic 'connect part A to part B' or are we talking complicated—like you trying to piece back the Command Center after Tommy wrecked it?"_

"_The latter," Billy admitted. "I am not saying it will be a simple project, but perhaps with Justin's aid it would be possible."_

_The older rangers all looked at Justin. He shrugged._

"_I can give it a go," he said. "No promises on the end result. I've never built anything like that before. I mean, I did help Alpha around the Power Chamber, but he was always right there to double check me…"_

"_What kind of scanner are you talking about building?" Hayley asked, looking at Billy. _

_He paused, then started going over the specs of the scanner. The rangers listened for a short time, then tuned it out as they lost track of what he was explaining. Justin was the only one who continued to pay close attention. As they were talking, she grabbed a notebook and a pen and started making a list of supplies._

"_I think I can pull something like that together," Hayley finally said. "As long as I can find the right parts."_

"_Several of the key components should still be stored in my lab there on earth," Billy said. "The rest should not be difficult to find at most hardware stores."_

"_I've got some ideas," Hayley smiled. _

_Billy smiled back._

"_Call me back once you've gotten everything together," he said. "And I will oversee the construction from here to the best of my abilities."_

_Jason nodded._

"_We'll talk to you soon, Billy," he said._

_Billy ended the call and Jason turned to Hayley._

"_You know everything you need?" he asked._

"_It's all right here," she said, holding up the notebook. _

"_Then let's go," he said. "We'll take my car and head to Angel Grove first to get whatever we can from Billy's place. Then we'll hit the stores for everything else on the way back."_

_Hayley nodded and started heading for the door._

"_I'm coming, too," Justin announced, darting after her. "I wanna see Billy's lab."_

_Jason chuckled, but nodded._

"_You, too, Zach," he said as he headed toward the door. _

"_Wait, what?" Zach exclaimed. "Why do I have to go?"_

_Jason paused, looking at him._

"_Because someone has to distract Billy's dad while we're in his lab," he said. "Unless you've got a really good cover story for why we need all of those parts."_

_Zach huffed, but headed for the door, grumbling to himself as he left the apartment._

"_That's what I thought," Jason smirked, following. "Call if anything happens and we'll get back here as soon as possible."_

_Adam, Rocky, and Tanya nodded in agreement as he shut the door behind him. _

"_Alright," Tanya said, rounding on the two men. "Both of you sit down."_

"_What?" Rocky said._

_She rolled her eyes, pushing them toward chairs._

"_Sit," she said. "I want to make sure neither of you has any injuries that need immediate attention."_

"_Tanya, we're fine," Adam protested._

_He winced as he sat down, however, and she crossed her arms as she glared at him. Rocky sat down without a protest._

"_I'll be the judge of that," she said. "Now shirts off."_

_Both of them opened their mouths to protest, but seeing the look on Tanya's face they thought better of it. Grumbling, they both carefully pulled their shirts off. Both already had bruises starting to appear where they'd taken hard hits. Tanya went to Adam first, biting her lip when she took a look at his back. He had a couple of other bruises here and there, but there was an entire series of bruises starting to darken on his back that ran almost the full length—the result of being slammed into the doorframe with a force that should have thrown him across the room._

"_Oh, Adam," she said, gently touching his back._

_He flinched at her touch, biting back a pained exclamation. She took a deep breath, probing as gently as she could with her fingertips to make sure she couldn't find anything broken or fractured. Adam continued to flinch at her touch no matter how hard he tried to hide it._

"_I'm sorry…" Tanya said, touching a particularly painful spot. "I'm trying to be careful…"_

"_You're fine," he said. "Just finish up and I'll be fine."_

_Finish her check-up of Adam, she took a deep breath. _

"_I think it's just bruises," she said. "I didn't feel anything out of place…"_

_Adam smiled at her and took her hand._

"_Come here," he said, tugging her down onto the chair. "Everything is going to be alright."_

_She sighed, leaning carefully against his shoulder. _

"_Is it?" she said, glancing over at Tommy unconscious on the couch. "Right now it seems like things were so much easier when all we were fighting were monsters…"_

_Rocky nodded in agreement and Adam put an arm around her, hugging her gently. Tanya flinched, a gasp of pain escaping as he touched her side. Frowning, Adam looked at her. Rocky had noticed the look on her face when Adam touched her side, too. He leaned forward._

"_Tanya, how hard did Tommy kick you?" Rocky asked._

_She shrugged._

"_Not that hard," she said. "I'm fine. You just hit a tender spot, that's all."_

_Adam sighed and stood up slowly—straightening up proved difficult with his bruised back. _

"_Come on," he said, holding out his hand. "Up. Let me take a look at your side."_

_She looked up at him but he just waited patiently with his hand out. Sighing, Tanya gave in and got up. She took off the t-shirt she was wearing, leaving on the cami underneath. Pulling up just the side, she turned so Adam could see._

"_Ouch…" Rocky said, catching a glimpse of the darkening bruises there. "He really got you good, didn't he?"_

_Adam carefully checked along Tanya's ribcage as she concentrated on not flinching. _

"_Nothing's broken that I can feel," he said after a moment. "But he might have cracked a rib or two. That was just not a good spot for that kick to land…"_

_Focused on Tanya, none of them noticed Tommy shifting on the couch. He opened his eyes slowly, looking around in confusion. Adam's back was to him as he fussed over Tanya. Frowning, Tommy stared at him for a moment as he tried to figure out what was going on. They were done being rangers, so Adam shouldn't have bruises like that anymore. And Tanya and Rocky were hurt, too. But Tommy couldn't figure out why he didn't remember being part of a fight—or how they all ended up in his apartment. He had to help though because his friends were hurt. Pushing himself slowly up, Tommy used the couch to lever himself to his feet. The room started spinning around him and he held onto the couch for a moment. Little flickers of the afternoon started coming back to him as he took a shaky step toward his friends. _

"_No," he gasped as the memories returned._

_With his vision blurring again and his legs giving out, Tommy collapsed to the floor, catching the attention of the other three rangers. They all spun to look at the fallen ranger. _

"_Tommy?" Tanya exclaimed, taking a hesitant step toward him._

_Rocky was on his feet again, moving to stand with Adam and Tanya as they moved carefully to Tommy's side. He was beginning to lose consciousness again, muttering as he shook his head. Hesitantly, Tanya crouched down next to him._

"_Tommy?" she said again, reaching out a hand toward him. "Tommy, is that you?"_

"_No," he mumbled, jerking slightly away from her. "No…I didn't…didn't mean…"_

_With a sigh, Tommy lost consciousness again. Tanya looked up at Rocky and Adam with a worried expression._

"_Come on," Adam said, shaking his head. "Let's get him off the floor again…"_

_Working together, the three of them got Tommy back up on the couch. Tanya started to turn to Rocky, but Adam stopped her._

"_You need to wrap those ribs first before you make them worse," he said firmly, directing her toward the bathroom. "Go find Tommy's first aid kit and see what you can find. I'll make sure Rocky's head—and the rest of him—is still in one piece."_

_Tanya rolled her eyes, but headed toward the bathroom._


	21. Chapter 21

Giving up on sleep, Vida sighed and sat up. She was tired from all of the fighting and having their powers drained and everything else, but sleep wasn't coming. Not that it was helping that the sun was still out. Stumbling wearily out of her room, she stepped out into the hallway of the apartment to see a light already on in the kitchen.

"Hey, sis," Madison said, glancing up from the table as Vida walked in. "I got you a snack, too."

Vida smiled, sitting down at the table with her. There was a pile of books on the table, but they appeared untouched. Apparently any attempt to do homework had failed because Madison just had a blank notebook sitting in front of her.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she said.

Madison shook her head.

"Too much on my mind," she sighed. "It's just—hard—some days to keep up with all of this…I wish we could take a break…Homework isn't helping…"

The fall semester had started several weeks before. Madison, however, was the only one who had opted to take more than one or two classes. All of the classes were online, which made it easier, but juggling twelve credits and rangers duties had been a difficult adjustment. Some days it was nearly impossible.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Vida agreed. "Not that I'd ever want to leave the guys to fight on their own."

"No, of course not," Madison said quickly. "I would never want to take off on them like that. I just meant it would be nice to think about something else for a while—like when Jason and Tommy were here…It was a nice distraction while it lasted…"

Vida nodded in agreement.

"Think we could convince them to come back?" she said after a moment. "Maybe Jason could bring Trini so we can actually meet Rose. Pictures just aren't the same."

"That would be nice," Madison sighed. "But I don't think it's going to happen. Jason hates magic, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Vida muttered. "But we could promise not to use any magic at all around them—not that we'd want to around Trini anyways. She doesn't know—or at least I hope she doesn't…"

"I guess it couldn't hurt to try," Madison said. "And calling Jason will get our minds off everything for a little while anyways."

"Then let's do it," Vida said. "Even if we can just convince them to come for the afternoon."

Reaching into her pocket, she frowned when all she found was her morpher. Some days it was hard to remember to carry their real phones with them. Especially because the people they were in contact with the most were the ones carrying wands as well. Retrieving her phone from her bedroom, Vida returned to the kitchen. The phone was already to her ear and ringing as she sat back down with Madison. Turning it on speaker, she set it in the middle of the table as they waited for Jason to answer.

"_Hello?" _he said, finally picking up.

"Hey big brother," Vida grinned. "How are things going?"

"_Pretty good," _he said. _"Keeping busy. Are you two doing alright?"_

"Been better," Vida said. "It was a long day today…"

"_What happened?" _he asked quickly.

"Jason, we're fine," Madison said. "There was just a lot going on. We're tired—"

"But neither of us can sleep," Vida sighed.

"So we called to talk for a while and check in," Madison added. "And we have a question…"

"_Uh huh…" _Jason said, though he didn't push for any more answers. _"So what's the question?"_

The girls exchanged glances.

"Well, we were kind of hoping you might come out for another visit," Vida said. "And maybe bring Trini and the kids so we can see Rose for real instead of just pictures?"

The phone was silent for a moment and then Jason took a deep breath.

"_I'm sorry, girls," _he said. _"But that's not going to happen. Maybe I'll come back out for an afternoon in a few weeks or so for your birthday, but I'm not bringing Trini or the kids."_

"Come on, big bro," Vida pleaded. "We promise not to use any magic at all around them."

"Or you," Madison said. "And we'll get the boys to promise, too."

"_No," _Jason said firmly. _"I am not bringing Mark or Rose anywhere near there while all of this is going on—and I can assure you Trini will agree with me completely. I don't want her or the kids anywhere near all that magic and those monsters."_

The girls sighed.

"But we can't come see you," Madison said softly. "It's too dangerous for us to leave like that."

"_And it's not dangerous for me to bring my kids to a city full of monsters?" _Jason asked.

"You're right," Vida said reluctantly. "Sorry, Jason…We're just tired and hoping for a break from everything."

He sighed.

"_I understand more than you think I do," _he said. _"But you know it won't last forever. I believe that you and your friends will succeed in defeating your enemies—just give it some time. And then you won't be tied down there anymore and can do your own thing again."_

The girls nodded.

"So there's no convincing you?" Vida said hopefully, trying one last time.

"_Not with the kids," _Jason said. _"But I'll talk to Trini about me coming out there for your birthday in a few weeks—though she probably won't let me come by myself. She doesn't want me getting hurt again."_

The girls smiled.

"Thanks, Jason," Madison said, stifling a yawn.

"_You two go get some sleep," _he said. _"I've seen caught bits of what is going on from the news and I know you've been running around almost non-stop. You need your rest."_

"We'll try," Madison said.

"_Good," _said Jason. _"And I'll talk to you later. Love you both."_

"Love you, too," they chorused.

Both girls drooped as the phone line went dead.

"So much for convincing him," Madison sighed.

But Vida was picking up the phone and dialing again.

"V, what are you doing?" Madison asked.

"Calling Tommy," she grinned. "If anyone can change big brother's mind it'll be him."

Madison rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Vida set the phone back down on speaker again. Tommy answered after just a couple of rings.

"_Hello?" _he said.

"Hi, Tommy," the girls said.

He laughed.

"_Hey girls," _Tommy said. _"What's going on? Everything alright?"_

"Just a little tired," Madison said. "A lot happened today…"

"_You sound tired," _he said slowly. _"Why aren't you sleeping if you have a chance?"_

"Because we can't," Vida muttered. "It's the middle of the afternoon, the sun is out, and our brains won't turn off long enough to actually fall asleep."

"_Been there before," _Tommy said ruefully. _"Sleep will come eventually. I promise."_

"We know," Madison said.

"But that's not the only reason we're calling," Vida said.

"_Oh?" _said Tommy. _"Then what's the other reason—or reasons?"_

The girls exchanged glances again. They were hoping this went over better with Tommy.

"Well, we were hoping you'd help us with something," Vida said.

"_With what?" _Tommy asked quickly, concern audible in his voice.

"With Jason," Madison said.

They heard Tommy sigh in relief. Both girls frowned, wondering what that was about. But, letting it go, they got back to their question.

"We want him to come visit us again," Vida said. "And we want him to bring the kids. We haven't seen Rose yet…"

On the other end of the line, Tommy took a deep breath.

"_And you want me to convince him, right?" _he asked.

"Exactly," Vida grinned.

"_Sorry, but no," _said Tommy._ "I can't do that."_

"Why not?" Madison asked, sharing a disappointed look with Vida.

"_First off, nothing is going to convince Jason to bring Mark or Rose—or Trini, for that matter—anywhere near Briarwood while there are monsters and beings with magic running around causing havoc," _Tommy said. _"And secondly, I don't want to."_

The girls frowned. They hadn't expected to hear that. So far, despite having been the one affected by the spell, Tommy had been far more accepting of their magic than Jason.

"It's because of the magic, isn't it?" Vida grumbled. "Why is it such a problem? Why do you and Jason hate magic so much?"

Tommy paused to take a deep breath.

"_Let's just say we've both been burned by it before," _he said cryptically.

"You keep saying things like that," Vida said in frustration. "But what is that supposed to mean?"

"Did you get caught in an attack in high school or something?" Madison asked.

"_I really don't want to get into anything right now," _Tommy said shortly.

"Please, Tommy," Vida said. "We just want answers. And you and Jason have been dancing around them for months now."

"_I'm not talking about it," _Tommy snapped. _"So drop it."_

The girls both fell silent. For a moment, no one spoke. Finally, Tommy sighed.

"_Look, I'm sorry," _he said. _"But it's not an easy topic, alright? Did either of you ever think that it might be painful for us to talk about?"_

"No, I guess we didn't," Madison said softly. "We're just so used to it now—I guess we never thought about how other people might look at magic…"

"We're sorry, Tommy," Vida said, staring down at her hands now. "We—I shouldn't have pushed you like that. We won't bug you anymore…"

"_V," _Tommy sighed. _"You aren't bugging me when you need to talk. I'm always happy to listen. But there are some things that are better left alone for now."_

"Will you ever tell us what happened?" Madison asked.

"_Maybe someday," _Tommy said slowly. _"When you're ready. But right now you aren't. Alright?"_

"Alright," they sighed.

Both of them yawned again, their weariness starting to catch up to them again.

"_Go get some sleep," _Tommy said. _"Neither of you will be any good to your teammates if you're too exhausted to function. So no leaving the apartment until you've gotten some rest. Got it?"_

"Yeah, we got it," Vida mumbled, resting her head on the table. "Bye…"

She trailed off, yawning again. Hanging up after Tommy said goodbye, Vida left her phone sitting on the kitchen table as she and Madison headed back to their rooms to get some sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Wow, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews and ideas. We love hearing from you, sorry i am not so good at replying. :P Anyway we are starting to get right into the thick of things so stick with us! It's going to be a bit of a bumpy ride from here on out. Hope you enjoy and thanks again keep the ideas/reviews coming.

* * *

_**Intervention Part 2**_

_By the time Jason and the other three returned with supplies for the scanner, Adam, Tanya, and Rocky had finished tending to their injuries and were relaxing in the living room, talking quietly as they kept watch over Tommy. He hadn't moved since they'd put him back on the couch._

"_How is he?" Jason asked, striding straight over to them._

"_Well, he woke up once," Tanya answered. "And he was acting a little strange…"_

"_But he didn't try and attack anyone," Adam said. "He just collapsed and passed out again before he could actually talk to us…"_

_Jason sighed, nodding. Turning, he went to add what he was holding to the pile Hayley, Zach, and Justin had made on the far side of the room. Hayley and Justin immediately got the computer and transmitter set up over by where they were going to work and called Billy. He answered quickly and the three were soon absorbed in the scanner. While they were busy, Tanya checked on Jason and Zach like she had on Rocky and Adam. An hour or so after Jason and the others had returned, Tommy finally woke up again. He groaned as he shifted, drawing the attention of everyone in the living room._

"_Tommy?" Jason said, instantly on his feet and moving toward the couch. "Falcon, are you awake?"_

_At the sound of Jason's voice, Tommy jerked upright and opened his eyes. He looked around wildly for a moment and saw the other rangers watching him warily. _

"_Tommy, are you alright?" Jason asked, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. _

_He jerked away._

"_Don't," he said, shaking his head. "Just—just don't touch me."_

_Jason drew his hand back._

"_Alright," he said. "But are you alright?"_

"_No!" he snapped, flinching at his own voice. "I—I just…All of you need to leave!"_

_Frowning, Jason crossed his arms._

"_We aren't going anywhere, bro," he said firmly. "I already told you—you aren't allowed to be alone right now."_

_Tommy was visibly shaking as he sat on the couch. Standing, Tanya moved to sit on the couch next to him. But the moment she got close, Tommy stumbled to his feet and away from her._

"_Tommy!" she exclaimed, reaching out for him._

"_No," he said, shaking his head. "Stay away. None of you should be anywhere near me. Please, just go."_

"_We're not leaving you, Tommy," Adam said, though he didn't move any closer. "You need our help—we're not just going to walk away from that."_

_Still shaking his head, Tommy continued backing away from them, trying to put as much distance between himself and his friends as he could manage in the small apartment._

"_I'm not—I'm not safe," Tommy insisted. "Just go—before I hurt anyone else…"_

_The rangers exchanged glances. They'd been hoping he wouldn't remember any of that, which is why they'd all been trying hard to cover up any signs of injury before he woke up. Adam, Tanya, and Rocky hadn't been sure if he'd seen anything earlier, but they had hoped for a no. _

"_Tommy, we're all fine," Jason said. "A few bumps and bruises is nothing to worry about."_

"_Jason, I attacked you!" Tommy snarled._

_All of them flinched, watching him warily again._

"_See!" he exclaimed, having managed to put himself in a corner. "I hurt all of you and it shouldn't have happened. You need to leave before—before I can hurt you again…"_

_But the other rangers just shook their heads. They weren't going anywhere. In the corner, Tommy leaned against the wall and sank down to the ground, pulling his knees up. Tanya started to go over to him, but Adam caught her hand and stopped her._

"_Give him a little while," he said softly. "He's awake now, but let's give him some space."_

_She sighed, but nodded._

_Several hours later, Tommy was still in the corner. He had refused to come out all afternoon for anything. All of the rangers had tried to get him out of the corner without success. Jason had tried ordering him out, but all that got him was a glare. Then he had tried talking Tommy out of the corner. It still hadn't worked. Adam and Rocky had tried talking him out, too, but Tommy just ignored their efforts. He flinched whenever someone got too close, trying to draw further into his corner. Zach had tried joking around with him, to get Tommy to relax enough to go sit on the couch again. He didn't even get a smile. And when one of them wasn't trying, Tanya was trying to coax him out of the corner. As Justin and Hayley started wrapping up with the last details of the scanner, he came over to give it a shot._

"_Hey, Tommy!" Justin said brightly, grinning at the older ranger as he bounced over. "How are you feeling? I'm glad you're awake now. You should come over and see the scanner I helped build. It's great!"_

_Tommy shook his head._

"_I'm staying here," he muttered. "And all of you should be gone. I told you all to leave."_

"_But I can't leave," Justin said, standing a few feet away. "My dad isn't picking me up until Sunday night… He's gone all weekend so I can't exactly go home."_

"_Then stay with someone else," Tommy said. "You aren't safe here."_

_Justin snorted._

"_I'm in an apartment full of power rangers and super geniuses," he said. "Is there somewhere safer than that?"_

"_Please," Tommy said, looking around at everyone again. "Just leave. I don't want to hurt anyone again…"_

"_Tommy, you aren't going to hurt us," Tanya said softly, moving to stand next to Justin. _

"_I already did!" he exclaimed. "Tanya, I saw the bruises I gave you, Rocky, and Adam. I don't know what I did to everyone else, but it can't have been any better because Zach has a bandage wrapped around most of one of his arms and Jason is moving just as stiffly as you three!"_

"_And we'll all be fine by the end of the week," Jason said, crossing his arms. "Or sooner. You know that. We've all had worse—"_

"_This wasn't just another monster, Jason," Tommy said. "It was me. I hurt all of you and it's going to happen again if you don't leave. And even worse, I betrayed you."_

_Jason frowned._

"_Tommy, you didn't betray anyone," he said. "Why would you think that?"_

_Tommy groaned, burying his face in his hands. _

"_All of you trusted me," he muttered. "You forgave me and you accepted me and you trusted me—and now this! I gave into the magic and I used it to hurt you—all of you—again!"_

_Jason sighed, shaking his head._

"_Tommy, there's no reason to feel guilty," he said. "This isn't your fault."_

"_And besides, you didn't touch me," Justin said, shrugging. "You tried, but you didn't actually touch me."_

"_That's not the point," Tommy said in frustration. "It's dangerous for any of you to be here! Especially Hayley! What is she even doing here anyways?"_

"_That's your fault," Justin said quickly. "I told her nothing and if anyone asks I'm sticking by my story that it was all you."_

_Tommy frowned in confusion. Hayley came walking over to them, finished with the scanner._

"_It's all ready," she said. "Tommy, are you coming?"_

"_I'm not leaving this spot until all of you get out," he growled. "I'm not going to risk hurting anyone again."_

_Sighing, Hayley rolled her eyes. She strode right over to Tommy in the corner and sat down next to him. He tried jerking away, but he had nowhere else to go without moving closer to the other rangers._

"_Hayley!" he exclaimed. "You shouldn't be this close to me. It's not safe—I could seriously hurt you."_

_She scoffed._

"_As if you could," she said. "Besides, it's my choice. Now let's go—I've got the scanner all ready for you."_

_Tommy glowered at her in response. _

"_Fine," she said. "Then we'll do this the hard way."_

_As the rangers looked at her in confusion, Hayley reached over and poked Tommy in the side. He jumped, shooting a glare at her._

"_Come on," she said. "You need to get out of this corner."_

"_Hayley," he growled. "Go away."_

"_Not until we've done the scan," she said, poking him again._

_He jumped again, but still didn't move. So she started poking him more until he finally jerked to his feet._

"_Hayley!" cried Tommy. "Stop!"_

"_Then get over there," she said as she continued to poke at him._

_The rangers watched in amusement as Hayley practically chased Tommy across the room._

"_Well, apparently Tommy is ticklish," Zach laughed as they watched. "Can't believe we never noticed."_

_Jason nodded, grinning as he headed over to the scanner._

"_Now sit down," Hayley said to Tommy, pointing to a chair._

_Glaring at her, he sat down at the scanner._

"_You know, Hayley?" Jason commented as he joined them. "I've decided I'm ok with you knowing. You get to sitck around."_

_Hayley rolled her eyes as she started setting the scanner. _

"_Good to know," she said. "Though I wasn't going anywhere anyways—and good luck trying to make me."_

"_You should all leave," Tommy muttered, crossing his arms. _

_Jason and Hayley ignored him. Justin joined them while the rest of the rangers stayed over by the couch. They didn't want to crowd Tommy right now. _

"_Are you sure this thing is going to work?" Jason asked, eying the scanner._

_Hayley glanced up at him. _

"_Hmm… I don't know," she said. "Why don't you put your hand right there and we'll test it first?"_

_She pointed, raising an eyebrow. _

"_But Hayley," Justin said. "Isn't that where the one part comes down to rest? It scans from the other side."_

_Jason glared at Hayley as she sighed._

"_Yes, Justin, it is," she said, shaking her head. "But Jason didn't know that."_

"_Oh," said Justin. "Whoops."_

"_Is everything in order, Hayley?" Billy interrupted from the computer screen._

_Tommy jumped in surprise. He hadn't been able to hear Billy talking with Hayley and Justin from across the room and he hadn't noticed the computer yet. _

"_Billy?" he said, looking at the computer in surprise._

"_Greetings, Tommy," Billy smiled. "As a warning, the scanner is going to run a little differently than what you are used to, but it will still accomplish the same purpose."_

"_So hold still," Hayley added as she turned it on. _

_She ran the scan carefully, trying to gather as much information as she could and hoping everything turned out clearly. Billy watched from the computer as Jason and Justin stood off to the side. The rest of the rangers continued to wait on the other side of the room for the results. Once the scanner was finished, Hayley turned her attention to the computer._

"_Your turn, Billy," she said. "This time anyways. I've never read a scan like this before."_

_He nodded as he leaned closer to his computer. She had sent the data straight to him for analysis. Billy studied it for a few minutes, not looking happy. The rest waited where they were for him to say something. Sighing, Billy looked back up on the camera. His picture disappeared, replaced by the scan he had been looking at, though they could still hear him as he spoke. Jason frowned at the screen. He knew what the scan should look like and something was really wrong._

"_The results of the scan are troubling," Billy said. _

"_Billy, what exactly is going on?" Jason asked. "Because that's not what Tommy's core looked like the last time I saw a scan of it."_

"_Same here," Justin said, looking at the screen in surprise. _

_Tommy's core, which had once been under tight control in order to rein in the dark magic, was chaotic. Colors were splashed everywhere, all of them tainted by the dark green that was overtaking everything._

"_The dark magic is slowly strangling Tommy's life force," Billy answered grimly. "While he once had it contained within a circle of his life-force, somehow it broke free. It has taken over his core and, if Tommy can't stop it, it will eventually kill him…"_

_Jason flinched, glancing over at Tommy who was now staring up at the ceiling. _

"_So what do we do?" he asked Billy. _

_Billy took a deep breath, the video of him coming back up as he started to answer._

"_There is not much we can do," he said slowly. "We cannot combat the magic for Tommy. All we can do is help—well, distract him from the urge to give in to the magic. The longer he can go without using it, the easier it will be and eventually he should be able to contain it again."_

_Jason nodded._

"_That settles it, then," he said, turning to Tommy. "I'm staying here whether you like it or not."_

_Taking a deep breath, Tommy stood up. _

"_Fine," he muttered, throwing his hands. "I give up…"_

_Shaking his head, he stalked to his room. The door was still lying on the floor so they watched as he dropped onto his bed, curling up on top of the blankets with his back to the door. Jason sighed, running a hand over his head. The rest of the rangers came crowding over to ask Billy for a repeat of the information._

"_Should one of us go in there?" Zach asked, looking at Jason after Billy was done._

_He shook his head._

"_No," he answered. "We can see he's not trying to do anything. Let him sleep."_

"_Ok, then next question," Zach said. "How are you going to tell the girls? Like Kim and Kat?"_

"_And someone should call Aisha," Rocky added. "Just because she's living in Africa doesn't mean she won't be ticked if no one tells her."_

_Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face._

"_Telling them isn't the problem," he muttered. "It's keeping them away. Especially Kim and Kat…Any ideas?"_

"_Sedatives?" Tanya said, her face completely serious. _

"_I can't drug them long term," Jason grumbled. "So, no…"_

"_I'm going to excuse myself from this conversation," Billy interrupted. "Jason, please keep me informed on Tommy's condition. If I can think of any other suggestions for aiding him I will contact you."_

"_Thanks, Billy," Jason sighed as Billy ended the call. _

"_We could always just lock the door," Adam pointed out. "Neither of them know how to pick a lock—and I don't think you'll have to worry about Aisha right away."_

"_I have rope!" Hayley inserted._

_They all turned to look at her in surprise._

"_What?" she said. "I do. It's in my car."_

"_Let's save that as a last resort," Jason said, shaking his head._

"_Do you think ordering them to stay away would work?" Justin asked._

_Now everyone looked at him. Zach and Rocky both burst out laughing as Jason and Adam just shook their heads. Tanya sighed, rolling her eyes._

"_Not a chance," Zach snorted. "Kim or Kat actually listen to Jason? That only happens in battle—unless it involves rescuing Tommy. Then no one listens to Jason."_

_Jason glowered at him._

"_What?" Zach said. "It's true. The minute Tommy disappears, gets kidnapped, is brainwashed, or anything else all the rules suddenly fly out the window."_

"_Anyways," Jason said, glaring at him. "Any other suggestions for keeping our two pinks in check?"_

"_I have a taser!" Hayley announced. _

_All of the rangers looked at her in shock._

"_I'm sorry…" she said. "I've had a lot of coffee today…"_

"_You know what?" Jason muttered. "I'm just going to call them. I'll figure out how to keep them away on my own…The rest of you get packed up and head home. I want it to just be me when he wakes up in the morning."_

"_So where do I go?" Justin exclaimed. "I can't go home, remember?"_

_Jason sighed, pausing in the middle of dialing his phone._

"_Ok, fine," he said. "Justin stays with me. The rest of you go home—"_

_Hayley glared at him._

"_You, too," he growled. "I don't care if you come back tomorrow—though I have a feeling I wouldn't be able to stop you—but at least give us until after breakfast."_

"_Alright," Hayley conceded, rolling her eyes._

_He nodded._

"_Now, I'm going to call the girls," he muttered. "I'll be back in a little while."_

_He started to turn and walk away, but his phone started ringing. Sighing, he pulled it out and looked to see who was calling. Seeing the number, he frowned._

"_Trini?" he said. "Why is she—oh no…I didn't tell her I wasn't going to make our date…"_

_Rocky and Zach hit the floor as Jason answered the phone._

"_Hey, Trini," Jason said. "Umm…So I know I forgot to call you earlier, but—"_

_He jerked the phone away from his ear as she started shouting at him over the phone. That just made Zach and Rocky laugh harder. Justin joined them, shaking as he laughed. Tanya was trying not to, covering her mouth as she shook her head and Adam was chuckling. Hayley just watched in amusement as Jason tried to defend himself. _

"_No!" Jason exclaimed, finally getting a word in edgewise. "I wasn't trying to stand you up. I got an—Trini, I got an emergency call from Justin…Yes, it was an actually emergency…No, it's Tommy…"_

_He started heading toward the door again._

"_No, he hasn't been kidnapped again," he said. "It's the dark magic, it's out of control…"_

_As Jason walked away to finish explaining to Trini before he called the other girls, leaving the rest of the rangers in the apartment to get themselves ready to leave. _

* * *

"Need any help there, chief?" Xander asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Not anymore," Nick said. "Thanks for asking."

"Just doing my part," Xander grinned.

They were at the Rock Porium working. Well, most of them were working. Xander was supervising again. All of them, however, were doing their best to avoid Leelee. Since she'd started working there they'd all been giving her the cold shoulder. They knew who she was—and who her mother was—and the rangers didn't trust her. Seeing her in the underworld with Necrolai had placed her on the enemy's side in their eyes.

"Uh, hey, Nick," Vida said, popping out of Toby's office. "Toby wants to see you in his office. He seems really mad. His eye was doing that twitch thing again."

"Aw, man," Nick muttered, leaving the box he had just brought out.

Behind his back, Xander and Vida exchanged grins. As he slowly opened the door to Toby's office, Xander, Vida, Chip, and Madison crowded behind him. But it wasn't an angry Toby that awaited him inside.

"The winner of the first ever Rockployee award goes to—Mr. Nick Russell!" Toby announced, holding a large trophy out to Nick.

He grinned in surprise, taking it.

"I can't see!" Leelee exclaimed behind the rangers. "I can't see!"

They just closed ranks tighter, blocking her out of the office.

"Thank you, Toby," Nick said gratefully as he turned to look at his friends. "Thank you, guys."

He chuckled, looking at the trophy.

"Wow," he said. "Well, I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends and coworkers—recent hires excluded."

He directed a glare in Leelee's direction as his friends smiled.

"Thanks again, Toby," Nick said. "It's amazing."

Laughing and excited, they all piled back out of Toby's office. Leelee stormed off, upset again.

"Looks like you finally found your groove in Briarwood," Madison said, smiling at Nick.

"Like I told you," he said, shrugging. "I've never stayed in one place long enough to have any real friends. But now…"

"Now you have," Madison said.

"Yeah, I have," he smiled back.

Glancing up, the clock caught his eye.

"Aw, man," he muttered. "Can you cover for me? I've gotta go feed Fire Heart. It's my turn today."

Madison nodded.

"Go ahead," she said. "I don't think Toby will mind his star employee stepping out for a few."

"Thanks," he said, heading for the door.

Nick was just about done feeding Fire Heart when Daggeron came walking up. Daggeron had been watching out for them since Udonna left several weeks before to try and find Leanbow. Clare had disappeared as well. They were pretty sure she'd just gone after Udonna, though they were a little concerned because she hadn't left a note. But that left Daggeron in charge of all of their training, both as knights and as wizards. He'd taken on the responsibility seriously, keeping a close eye on all of them.

"This is a dangerous time for you, Nick," Daggeron commented, watching him with Fire Heart.

"What's new?" Nick said, shrugging.

Daggeron frowned.

"The terrors know you're the Light," he said. "They will come for you. They will do everything in their power to deceive you, capture you, and destroy you."

"I get it!" Nick exclaimed, trying to brush off the subject.

He'd been avoiding it for a while now, not really sure he wanted to be shouldered with that kind of responsibility.

"No, you don't," Daggeron said, shaking his head. "But nice try. When the time is right, you will understand. And you will also realize your connection to Fire Heart."

He gestured at the dragon.

"Fire Heart?" Nick said, earning a loud roar from the dragon.

He shook his head, but Fire Heart just watched him.

"I gotta get back to work," Nick said.

* * *

"So do they know you're coming?" Adam asked, glancing over at Tommy.

Tommy shook his head.

"Not a clue," he grinned. "Jason hinted that he was planning on coming, but he never said anything for sure."

It was Friday evening and Tommy was surprising the girls with a visit for their birthday. It was a long weekend for him since there was no school on Monday so he was taking advantage of the opportunity before he was too busy grading papers and such to take time to visit.

"Yeah, well he's not coming out here anytime soon," Rocky snorted. "Cause you know he's going to end up with the flu by the time Trini and Mark are better."

Adam and Tommy both laughed as Tommy parked his jeep. He'd found a spot just down the street from the Rock Pporium. As Tommy turned off the car, the three men climbed out.

"Let's go surprise the girls," Tommy said. "I'll worry about presents later."

Rocky and Adam nodded, following him down the street. When they walked in, they didn't immediately see the kids. Figuring they were out, Tommy decided to wait around a little while to see if they came back. Adam and Rocky started wandering, looking around the shop. Tommy leaned up against the wall, watching the door. Then he caught sight of Leelee walking by with a box. She was wearing the purple uniform shirt. Frowning, Tommy watched her closely. He didn't know that she worked there—though he had heard a little about her from the girls. Some boxes on the counter she was passing moved and Leelee jumped in surprise.

"Hi!" she exclaimed, smiling as she turned around.

The rangers were leaning on the counter, watching her. But Tommy stayed where he was, not wanting to interrupt. None of the rangers had seen him.

"Can the hi's," Vida said shortly. "Why'd you decide to work here?"

"Are you going after Toby?" Madison asked.

"Maybe she's trying to infiltrate the team and take us down one by one," Chip suggested.

Tommy frowned as he listened.

"No, I'm not," Leelee protested. "I just want to be like everyone else. I want to be your friend. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes!" all five of the rangers exclaimed.

A beeping ring, which Tommy recognized as coming from their morphers, went off and he quickly shifted away from the door and out of sight.

"Probably your mom now," Nick scowled, heading for the door.

"Leelee, if you want to be like everyone else, go help that customer," Vida smirked, following him.

"But I—" Leelee started to say.

"And could you finish cleaning the kitchen?" Madison interrupted, slipping past her.

"I already started—" Leelee tried again.

"The trash is ready for the dumpster," Chip said, dropping a full trash bag in her arms.

"Yeah, I—" she said.

"Sorry, Leelee," Xander interrupted. "I won't be able to supervise you."

Xander was the last one out the door, leaving Leelee staring after them. Rocky and Adam, seeing the kids leaving, had hurried over to Tommy.

"Should we go after them?" Adam asked.

Tommy didn't answer right away, watching Leelee as she headed to take out the trash.

"Yeah," he finally said. "I need to talk with them. So follow, but don't let them see you. And don't get involved if a fight breaks out. I'll catch up in a few minutes."

Adam and Rocky nodded, taking off after the kids. Tommy headed in the other direction, following Leelee outside. He waited while she tossed the trash in the dumpster. When she turned around she jumped in surprise, not having heard Tommy follow her.

"Umm… Hi," she said hesitantly. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"We need to talk," Tommy said.

"About what?" she asked warily.

"The rangers," Tommy answered. "And what you're doing here."

She looked at him in surprise.

"Rangers?" she said, trying to act like she knew nothing. "I don't know anything about the power rangers."

"Don't dodge," Tommy said shortly. "I know V, Maddy, Nick, Xander, and Chip are the rangers."

Leelee's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't been expecting to hear that.

"And I have a good idea of who you are," Tommy continued, studying her. "But what I want to know is—what are you doing here?"

Frowning, Leelee bit her lip as she tried to decide whether she could talk to him or not. But Tommy just watched her patiently. Finally Leelee sighed.

"Just what I told them," she said. "I don't want to be like my mom—I just want to be normal. I want to have friends. I don't—I don't have any friends…"

She dropped her gaze, staring down at her feet. Tommy studied her intently, trying to read her intentions. After a moment he relaxed a little.

"I'm not saying they should trust you yet," he said slowly. "But I do think they need to give you a chance to prove yourself."

Leelee's head shot up and she looked at Tommy in complete shock.

"I'll say something to them," he said. "But you're going to have to work for their trust—it's not something to be lightly given."

"I know…" she sighed, ducking her head again. "I just want a chance."

"I know the feeling," Tommy said. "More than you can understand. Now get back to work—I'll handle the rangers."

Without another word, he slipped past her and took off down the street.

* * *

It took Adam and Rocky a few minutes to catch up, but they finally found the kids. Staying out of sight, they kept a close eye on what was happening.

"Let the hunt begin," the creature the rangers were approaching said, looking around. "Ah."

He'd seen the rangers. They ran forward, already morphed and ready to fight.

"Stop right there!" Nick shouted.

The five rangers faced him, waiting for him to make a move.

"I am Oculus the Hunter," Oculus said. "And you are my quarry. But I'll make a deal with you."

Exchanging looks, the rangers frowned. Adam and Rocky exchanged looks, too. They didn't like the sound of this.

"A deal?" Madison said.

"What kind of deal?" asked Xander.

"I only want the red ranger," Oculus answered. "If he surrenders to me now, the rest of you will be spared. Interested?"

"Why is it always the red rangers?" Adam muttered to Rocky.

"Hey, it was always Tommy with us," Rocky protested quietly. "Even before he was red."

Adam shrugged, not having an argument to that, and turned his attention back to the kids.

"He's the hunter and we're the prey?" Chip said hesitantly.

"That's right," Oculus said. "And I'm the best. Just surrender, red ranger, and spare me the trouble."

"Forget it!" Nick snapped.

"Yeah!" Vida agreed.

"We don't go down without a fight!" Chip said.

"Ok," said Oculus. "I'll demolecularize your friends one by one with my lasers. If I don't have all four by sundown, I'll surrender. That's the game."

"Well, then game on!" Nick agreed. "Hey!"

Oculus had just disappeared. Adam and Rocky exchanged grim looks. This didn't sound like it was going to end well. And there was still no sign of Tommy.

"Where'd he go?" Vida said, glancing around.

"Something tells me he'll be back," Chip said, looking as well.

Suddenly they could hear Oculus' voice, apparently coming out of thin air.

"_Rangers, the hunt is on," _he said. _"I can be anywhere. I suggest you start running!"_

Blasts of magic started shooting toward the rangers. They formed up, facing in the direction the blasts were coming from.

"He's up in the window!" Chip said, pointing.

"He's not so smart after all," Nick scoffed.

"Magi staffs!" they all called.

But even as they blocked the barrage raining down on them, another shot came from behind. It struck Nick in the leg, dropping him to the ground with a cry of pain.

"Nick!" the rangers cried, shifting to defend him.

"That blast came from the other direction," Madison said in surprise. "How?"

"Watch out!" Chip cried, blocking a blast with his staff.

"We gotta get Nick out of here!" Xander cried.

"Come on!" Chip said as they helped Nick up.

They took off, trying to put some distance between them and Oculus. Rocky and Adam looked at each other and then took off after them.

"Use the Ninjetti," Adam said. "It's the only way we're going to keep up without someone seeing us."

"Got it," Rocky agreed.

They followed the kids through the streets as they ran, but they hadn't made it far when Nick's leg gave out again. He'd been leaning on Xander and Chip, but as he stumbled he fell to the ground, slipping out of their grip.

"Nick!" Xander exclaimed.

"My leg!" Nick groaned.

Xander moved to help him back up, then stiffened in surprise as a bolt hit him in the back. The girls gasped as he fell backward, disappearing into thin air.

"Oh no!" Chip said.

"Xander!" Nick cried.

Adam and Rocky stared at the place Xander had just been standing.

"Great," Rocky muttered. "This isn't good. This really isn't good."

"Where's Tommy?" Adam said, glancing around. "He's not going to like this."

"I don't know, but they're on the move again," Rocky said, darting down the street.

And they were. The remaining four rangers were making a break for it. Adam followed Rocky, the pair silently streaking down the street after the rangers.

Tommy jogged quickly through town, looking for any sign of the rangers. But he hadn't even been able to find Rocky or Adam yet.

"Come on, guys," he muttered. "Where are you?"

Hearing shouting and small explosions, Tommy spun and bolted in the direction of the sounds.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Losing Zordon**_

"_Sorry, Hayley," Jason sighed, glancing over toward the couch as he paced. "I just don't think it would be a good idea for you to come over today. He's not exactly having a good day and I don't want him to hurt you if he snaps over something…"_

_Tommy was sitting on the couch and staring at the TV, flipping irritably through the channels rather than actually finding something to watch. He'd been agitated since that morning when a sudden burst of magic had blasted through the area and woke him up. Neither of them had any idea where it had come from, but it had equaled instant bad day for Tommy was now fighting every urge to use his own magic after the charge up from the blast. That had put him in a very bad mood._

"_No, this has nothing to do with—" Jason protested. "Hayley, I am not trying to hide ranger business from you! I gave up trying to do that after the first week."_

_He paused, frowning as he listened._

"_What are you talking about?" he asked. "What do you mean 'seen what's going on in Angel Grove?...Ok, ok. I'll take a look."_

_Turning around, he covered the mouthpiece of the phone._

"_Tommy, turn on the news," he said. "Apparently there's something on Hayley thinks we're trying to hide from her."_

_Tommy didn't answer, but he did change the channel to the news. As they realized what was showing, both of them froze. Jason slowly put the phone back to his ear._

"_Hayley, I've got to go," he said sharply. "I'll let you know when it's ok to swing by."_

_Hanging up without waiting for an answer, Jason joined Tommy at the couch for a closer look at what was going on. The news footage was showing the city of Angel Grove in ruins. There was only an aerial view, but everywhere the camera turned they could see more destruction. It looked like more than half of the city had been destroyed. Neither one could look away. Taking the remote from Tommy, Jason turned the sound on._

"…and while the lockdown of Angel Grove has lifted to allow emergency personnel into the city," _the reporter was saying, _"there are still many areas of the city that are inaccessible. Rescue teams are working their way through the city, but at this time there is no estimate of how many people are still missing. Accounts of damage to the city are astonishing and the number of dead or injured continues to climb—"

_Jason shut off the TV, not wanting to hear anymore. Sitting next to him, Tommy was extremely tense. His fists were clenched and he was visibly struggling with himself. _

"_Turn it back on," Tommy snapped. "We have to make sure everything is under control."_

"_Tommy, why don't we just try calling—" Jason started to suggest._

"_Turn it on," Tommy repeated, glaring at Jason._

_Sighing, Jason turned the TV back on. _

"…the power rangers have been reported all over the city as they help rescue trapped citizens. We have not been able to collect video footage as of yet because power lines are down all over the city and communications have been spotty—"

"_See?" Jason said, turning it back off. "The rangers are helping people now, not fighting. Everything is under control."_

"_We need to go back," Tommy said, standing abruptly. "Our families are there. My parents—"_

_He cut off, striding toward the door. Jason leapt up and sprinted to intercept him._

"_Tommy, wait," he said, putting himself between Tommy and the door. "Let's try making some calls before we just go rushing in. Someone has to be closer than us."_

_Jason suddenly froze as something occurred to him._

"_Oh no," he said, shaking his head and reaching for his phone again. "Trini is back in Angel Grove already…And she's not the only one…"_

_Tommy grimaced. They both know Trini, or any of the other rangers, would be the last ones to just run away from the fight. Especially if things had gotten as bad as they looked on the news. Jason and Trini had been dating seriously for a couple of years now. They'd gotten together while they were gone at the Peace Conferences and had been together ever since._

"_Try calling your parents," Jason said roughly as he tried calling Trini's phone. "If they don't answer, try mine. And then some of the rangers. We've got to get a hold of someone who's there."_

_Still glaring, Tommy stalked away to grab his own phone. They both started making phone calls, but neither one could get an answer. Even if the phones rang, no one picked up._

"_Agh!" Jason exclaimed in frustration a little while later. "There has got to be someone with a working phone!"_

_They had both tried their parents, each others parents, all of their friends, and even the Space Rangers—though they hadn't really expected any of them to answer. But they hadn't gotten through to anyone and it was going on lunchtime._

"_Let's just go," Tommy muttered, pacing around the apartment. "We have our morphers. No one will stop us from entering the city as rangers."_

"_No," Jason said sharply. "I am not giving you a morpher right now."_

_Tommy stopped pacing to glare at Jason again._

"_Jason, our families are in danger!" he shouted. "We have to do something!"_

"_We can't," Jason snapped. "Don't you think I want to go running in there and make sure they're all ok?"_

"_Then why can't we?" Tommy growled._

"_Because there's nothing we can do right now!" Jason exclaimed. "And on top of that, I'm not letting you go anywhere near Angel Grove because I'm willing to be anything it has something to do with that magic this morning. You aren't going anywhere near the source until we know what it is—especially with a morpher."_

"_Jason, I'm fine," Tommy insisted. "We can't just stand around and do nothing."_

_Jason shook his head._

"_I'm sorry, Falcon," he said. "But it took five of us to get your morphers the last time—especially with those stupid Zeo morphers of yours. I'm not risking it until you're completely over this addiction to magic. Not to mention you don't have the energy without a direct connection to the morphing grid."_

"_Come on, Rex," Tommy pleaded. "I can't sit and do nothing—I can't."_

"_No," Jason said firmly, though he desperately wanted to give in. "We're staying here. I will find someone else to send after our families—even if I have to beg Hayley."_

_Knowing Jason wasn't about to let him out the door and having no way to get to Angel Grove—Jason had locked all of the car keys as well as Tommy's wallet in the lockbox with the morphers after the first time Tommy had tried taking off—Tommy spun and stalked to his room. Jason winced as Tommy slammed the door behind him. Sighing, he rubbed a hand over his face. _

"_And I'll bet he just locked the door again…" Jason muttered._

_Shaking his head, he started dialing his phone again. He wanted to try Zach one more time because, as far as he knew, Zach had been out of Angel Grove that weekend._

"_I'll deal with him in a minute," he sighed as he waited for an answer. _

"Hello?" _Zach answered. _"Jason?"

"_Yeah, it's me," Jason said, relieved to finally have an answer. "Zach, where are you?"_

"Stuck on the freeway,"_ Zach muttered. _"Can't get anywhere near Angel Grove right now…"

_Jason grimaced._

"_That's what I was afraid of," he said. "Have you heard from anyone?"_

"Nothing," _Zach said. _"Can't get through to anyone…"

_Taking a deep breath, Jason ran a hand over his head._

"_Alright, then call me when you get in," he said. "I can't leave Tommy right now and he's not in any shape to deal with whatever is going on there. Do what you have to do."_

"Got it, man," _Zach said. _"Take care of him."

"_Will do," said Jason. "And keep me posted. If you hear from anyone at home, let me know right away."_

_Hanging up, Jason paced around for a few minutes. He knew he should go check on Tommy, but he also knew Tommy need a chance to cool down. Sighing, Jason decided to update Hayley again before she showed up at their apartment door and irritated Tommy into an explosion. She was Tommy's friend, but somehow Jason always found himself calling her with updates now that she knew what was going on. Though mostly because she had a knack for breaking Tommy out of some of his darker moods._

"Hey, Jason," _Hayley said, answering almost immediately. _"Is everything alright? What's going on? Did you find out anything?"

"_Absolutely nothing," he muttered. "The news is our only source of information right now—and I'll be you can guess how much that tells us…"_

"How's Tommy taking it?" _she asked._

"_That's actually why I'm calling," said Jason. "I'm not going to lift what I said earlier. He's not safe to be around right now—and I haven't even tried extracting him from his room yet."_

"Jason!" _she exclaimed. _"You let him lock himself in his room again?"

"_Well, it was either that or fighting to keep him from bolting out the front door," he said defensively. "But I thought you'd appreciate the update before I go deal with him."_

"I should have just come over earlier instead of calling,"_ she huffed. _"I could have helped distract him."

"_Or irritated him more," Jason muttered._

_A knock on the door had him spinning around. He frowned, slowly moving to answer it._

"_Hayley, where are you?" he asked suspiciously. _

"Sitting on my couch," _she said. _"Why?"

"_So I'm not going to open the apartment door and find you standing there?" he said._

"No," _she retorted. _"If I was there I would have let myself in already."

"_Great," he muttered. "Then I'll have to let you go. I'll try and convince Tommy to call you later. Right now I have to go deal with whatever idiot is at my door—they have the worst timing in the world."_

"Good luck," _she said. _"And if he doesn't call, or I don't hear from you, I will be coming over tomorrow whether you like it or not."

"_Oh, good," Jason grumbled. "Bye."_

_Hanging up, he reached to unlock the door and opened it._

"_What do you wan—" Jason cut off in shock. "Mom? Dad?"_

_His parents looked nearly as surprised as he did, but mostly because of the snappy tone in his voice when he first spoke. Madison and Vida were standing there, too, as were the Olivers. Brushing off Jason snapping, Mrs. Rocca reached out for a hug that Jason immediately returned._

"_You're all alright," he said in relief. "What happened?"_

_Both of his sisters started talking at once, meaning he understood hardly any of what they were saying because it was all getting mixed up. He let the twelve-year-old twins chatter on, chuckling as he let the group into the apartment. As they walked in past him, he scooped them both up. The girls squealed as he threw them over his shoulders and walked inside still carrying them. Their parents laughed as they followed. _

"_Where's Tommy?" Mrs. Oliver frowned, looking around as Jason dropped the girls on the couch. "He is home, right?"_

_Jason looked up quickly, glancing between her and Tommy's door._

"_Oh, he's in his room," he said quickly. "Why don't you let me—"_

_But Mrs. Oliver was already hurrying toward the bedroom. Jason followed, desperately hoping Tommy had actually locked the door, or that he at least wasn't using magic on anything. It had been nearly two months since Justin's phone call had initiated a major intervention with Tommy. After that first night, Jason had moved into the empty second bedroom in the apartment—despite all of Tommy's protests about it not being safe and how they should just leave him alone. But they hadn't left him alone since. He'd been allowed to spend time by himself in his room or watching TV and other such things, but someone was always in the apartment with him. And the only time he had left during that time had been for class—with Hayley sticking to his side like glue the entire time. Between her and all of the rangers, Tommy was never really alone. He'd had a few relapses with the magic, especially when something really upset or angered him, but for the most part he was finally starting to get better. But, as he was still recovering, he was generally irritable, easily angered, and occasionally lashed out for no reason—which is why the rangers didn't like him being alone with anyone else, even if it was Hayley._

"_Mrs. Oliver," Jason said, trying to intercept her. "Tommy really hasn't been having a good day. He wasn't feeling good earlier after we saw the news about Angel Grove and he went to lie down. Maybe—"_

"_All the more reason for me to check on him," she insisted, walking around Jason. "I haven't seen him in months because you and Miss Ziktor insisted he wouldn't want us to see him like that. But now I'm here and I'm going to take care of my son. Goodness knows you two probably don't take care of yourselves the way you should."_

_Jason rolled his eyes as Madison and Vida snickered. There really was no arguing with Mrs. Oliver when it came to Tommy and his well-being. She knocked on the door and Jason waited for the explosion._

"_Go away, Jason!" Tommy shouted, apparently not having heard anything going on outside of his room. _

_His mother frowned, shooting a look a Jason. He just shrugged. He was used to dealing with Tommy's moods, so the shout didn't faze him. _

"_Thomas Oliver!" Mrs. Oliver demanded. "If you don't get out here right this instance I will have your father fetch tools from the car and remove this door!"_

_For a moment there was silence in the room and then the door flew open. Jason tensed, ready to react, but Tommy just grabbed his mother in a tight hug. She returned the hug just as fiercely, neither one wanting to let go._

"_Jason's a jerk," Tommy mumbled as he hugged her._

"_Hey!" Jason protested as his sisters laughed._

"_Why is he a jerk?" Mr. Oliver asked, prying Tommy loose from his mother for a hug of his own._

"_Because he wouldn't let me come find you," Tommy grumbled. "And then you weren't answering the phones and I thought…well…"_

_He trailed off, hugging his father even tighter as his mother hugged them both. _

"_We're alright, sweetheart," Mrs. Oliver reassured him. "We've just been worried about you."_

"_And they aren't letting anyone but emergency responders into the city right now anyways," Mr. Rocca said, standing next to Jason. _

"_They'd have let us in," Tommy muttered, shooting a glare at Jason._

_Jason glowered back, crossing his arms._

"_You are still in no shape to be near anything like that," he countered. "Last thing any of us need is you losing con—passing out in the middle of all of the chaos."_

"_I would have been fine," Tommy snapped, loosening his hold on his parents a little to turn toward Jason._

"_They weren't even there, bro," Jason said, tensing. "You would have panicked when we couldn't find them anywhere."_

_Tommy opened his mouth to snap a reply but caught himself, glancing at his parents. He backed down, taking a deep breath. _

"_Stop arguing with Tommy, Jason," Mrs. Rocca scolded, her hands on her hips as she glared at him. _

"_Wait—what?" Jason exclaimed, looking at his mother in surprise. "But he started it!"_

"_And he's still recovering," she said, walking around Jason to give Tommy a hug. "He doesn't need you aggravating him. You should know that."_

_Tommy hugged her back, smirking at Jason over her shoulder. Jason glared at him, but didn't say anything._

"_She's right, Tommy," Mrs. Oliver frowned. "You should be resting."_

_Jason snickered as she started shooing Tommy toward the couch. Tommy sighed, but didn't bother protesting. Madison and Vida giggled with Jason, not entirely sure what was going on but thinking it was entertaining nonetheless. _

"_Have you eaten lunch?" Mrs. Oliver asked as she continued to fuss. "You look like you've lost weight."_

"_I ate breakfast, mom," Tommy sighed._

"_That wasn't what I asked," she said. "Which means you haven't eaten lunch yet. What do you have in your kitchen?"_

_Shaking his head, Jason left Tommy to his mother's attention and turned back to his own parents._

"_Did you see Trini before you left?" he asked hopefully._

_But they both shook their heads. _

"_Everything is so chaotic though," Mr. Rocca said quickly when he saw the look of panic flash across Jason's face. "She could have walked right past us and we wouldn't have seen her. It was hard enough keeping track of your sisters in the mess."_

_Jason took a deep breath. Tommy, who was still trying to convince his mother he wasn't hungry and that he had indeed eaten breakfast, glanced over in time to catch Jason's look as well._

"_She'll be fine, Rex," he said. "Trini knows how to take care of herself—just like the rest of them. They know when to keep to themselves."_

_Sighing, Jason nodded. Madison and Vida, tired of being left out of the conversation, bounced over to Jason and grabbed his hands. _

"_Guess what?" Vida exclaimed excitedly. _

"_You just jumped on my foot?" Jason said, wincing as he glanced down at her._

"_Whoops," she said sheepishly. "But that's not it."_

"_Then what?" he asked, waiting for the answer._

"_We know who the power rangers are!" Madison burst out, beaming._

_Jason and Tommy both froze, looking at each other in complete shock. But the girls didn't seem to notice as they continued to chatter in excitement and neither did any of the parents._

"_It was amazing," Vida said. "The evil lady who claimed she was the ruler of the whole universe wanted us to give them up but we didn't know who they were—"_

"_Not that we would have anyways," Madison interrupted. "But they were going to destroy the whole earth if we didn't. And she was about to do it when they came to save us!"_

"_They morphed right in front of us," Vida said eagerly. "So now everyone knows who they are."_

_Taking a deep breath, Jason glanced at his parents for confirmation, though he was really hoping his sisters were wrong._

"_We spent last night in some of the rubble downtown where some of the—soldiers, I guess—forced all citizens they could capture to go," Mr. Rocca explained. "We were told we had until this morning to give up the power rangers or the whole earth would suffer."_

_Jason and Tommy were both shaking their heads now. They'd had no idea things had gotten that bad. _

"_There were a few who wanted to find the rangers and give them up, but most of us weren't going to turn on them," he continued. "In the end, however, the rangers chose to reveal themselves in order to save everyone. Actually, I believe you know a couple of them at least."_

_Jason and Tommy both grimaced. _

"_Really?" Jason said, trying really hard to sound surprised. _

"_Carlos and Ashley," Mrs. Rocca said, nodding. "Weren't they involved with a couple of your charity events in high school? I'm sure I remember seeing you with them."_

"_Oh, umm…" Jason stammered, looking at Tommy._

_Tommy just shrugged nervously, running a hand over his head. _

"_Do you really know two of the power rangers?" Vida asked excitedly, grabbing Jason's arm as she bounced._

"_I guess," Jason said slowly. "But only in passing really. We never hung out or anything."_

_Tommy snorted, turning it into a cough. Jason shot him a look._

"_But who'd have thought?" Jason said, turning back to his parents. "The power rangers were high schoolers."_

_Tommy shot a glare at Jason._

"_What?" Jason said, putting his hands up._

_Shaking his head, Tommy reluctantly took the sandwich his mother had insisted on making him—even though it wasn't quite lunchtime. _

"_One of them is an alien, not a high schooler," Madison corrected. _

_Jason rolled his eyes, but didn't argue back. He really didn't want to get too involved in the subject. That was a sensitive area for both him and Tommy as neither one wanted their families to know about them being rangers. Trying to distract everyone, Jason suggested they all sit down and play a game while they ate lunch. Everyone agreed, so more sandwiches were made and Tommy pulled out a few board games. Soon they were all involved in the game. But while they were still in the middle of playing when Tommy's phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and absently glanced at the number, not actually planning on answering. But when he saw who was calling he frowned and stood up._

"_I'll be right back," he said, walking away as he answered. "I need to answer this. Hey, man. What's going on? We saw the news. Is everyone alright?"_

_Tommy stopped, his face lighting up in excitement. _

"_You did?" he exclaimed. "That's great! Where is he? When can we—"_

_He cut off suddenly. The smile slipped from Tommy's face as he stood frozen in place, the phone slipping from his hand and hitting the floor with a clatter. Everyone jumped in surprise and turned to see what had happened. Jason was on his feet the moment he saw the look on Tommy's face. He bolted over to see what was going on._

"_Who was that?" Jason asked, putting a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "What's wrong?"_

_Tommy just shook his head in answer, a look of shock written across his face. Eyes narrowed, Jason snatched the phone off the ground. Their parents had stood up from the game, watching in concern. Mrs. Oliver was hurrying over to Tommy as Jason started talking. _

"_Who is this?" Jason demanded. "And what did you just say to Tommy?"_

"This is TJ…" _was the answer. _"Who is this?"

_Everyone was looking at Jason for an explanation now. Tommy wasn't responding to his mother as she asked him what was wrong. She was fretting as she tried to break him out of his shock. He just kept staring at Jason in disbelief. _

"_This is Jason," Jason said sharply. "Now what did you just say to Tommy?"_

"Jason who?" _TJ asked suspiciously. _

_Jason took a deep breath, trying not to scream at TJ just who he was. Whatever TJ had just told Tommy couldn't have been good news if he was reacting like this and the last thing Jason needed was the other ranger snapping while their families were there. Tommy was completely on edge right now. No one else currently present would notice, but Jason had seen the signs often enough over the past couple of months to know that Tommy was fighting very hard to keep himself under control._

"_Jason Scott," Jason growled in answer. "Tommy's best friend from high school."_

"Ok—so?" _TJ said, not making the connection right away. _

_Jason took another deep breath before he said something he shouldn't in front of his and Tommy's parents. _

"_I'm the one who did a lot of fencing with Tommy," Jason snapped. "Favorite color is red? Going to kill you the next time I see you?"_

"Oh…" _TJ said. _"You're that Jason."

"_Yeah, that Jason," Jason retorted. "Now you have about thirty seconds to tell me what is going on before I personally come hunt you down and pry it out of you by any means necessary—and don't think there is somewhere you can hide from me. I have more connections than you think I do."_

_TJ hesitated for a moment in surprise, not sure what to do with Jason's threat. Jason was fairly certain none of the Space Rangers knew what was going on with Tommy—as Justin was under strict instructions not to tell any of them—but Jason didn't care at the moment. TJ's ignorance of the situation was not an excuse he was going to take at this time. _

"_Jason," Mrs. Rocca frowned. "You didn't fence in high school…"_

_But he just shook his head, not bothering to answer her. _

"_Now!" he snapped at TJ. _

"Alright, chill," _TJ muttered. _"I'm just not sure how to say—"

_Jason growled. _

"Ok!" _TJ said quickly. _"We found—well, Andros found Zordon—"

"_That's great!" Jason exclaimed in relief, interrupting TJ. "Where is he? With you guys? I know it might be tricky but is there any way for me to bring Tommy? He could really use—"_

"Jason," _TJ interrupted. _"It's not like that…"

_Jason frowned. _

"_What do you mean?" he asked slowly. "You said you found him. Didn't he come back? Even for just a little while? And if he didn't, can't you guys just give us a ride? It's really important."_

"I'm sorry," _TJ said. _"But Zordon—Zordon is gone…"

_Jason froze, his look of shock matching Tommy's for a brief moment. Tommy was still staring at Jason in desperation, hoping for better news. But the look on Jason's face dashed those hopes. _

"_What happened?" Jason asked harshly, turning away from Tommy. _

"It was this morning…" _TJ said slowly as he tried to decide the best way to share what happened. _

"_This morning?" Jason repeated, still surprised. _

_Tommy's eyes widened. He moved, reaching over and grabbing Jason's arm. _

"_Jase, that's what happened!" he hissed. "What I felt when I woke up—"_

_Jason held up a hand as he tried to continue talking to TJ._

"_Jason, what is going on?" Mrs. Oliver demanded. _

"Andros tried—" _TJ was continuing. _

"_Hold on a minute," Jason snapped at him. "I can't—I can't have this conversation here."_

_All eyes were still on him as he spun and stalked toward the door to leave the apartment. _

"_Where are you going?" Mrs. Rocca asked._

"_Somewhere that isn't here," Jason answered shortly, surprising her with his tone. _

"_But what is going on?" Mrs. Oliver cried, stopping Tommy as he tried to follow Jason. _

"_Mom, let go," Tommy snapped. _

_She looked at Tommy in surprise as Jason paused to look back at him. _

"_Tommy, stay here," Jason said. "Give me a chance to figure out what is going on. I will tell you—I promise."_

_Nodding reluctantly, Tommy stayed where he was. Mrs. Oliver was still looking at Jason expectantly for an answer—all of the parents were. Jason took a deep breath. _

"_It's about a close—friend—of ours," he said. "He may not have made it through the attack…"_

_As surprised exclamations echoed around the room, Jason spun and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him before anyone else could question what he'd said. He kept moving away from the door, heading outside to find somewhere more private. The phone went back to his ear as he walked. _

"_Alright, TJ," he growled. "What happened? I want the whole story right now."_

_TJ didn't hesitate this time. Jason moved outside, ducking into a nearby alley as he listened to the other ranger. TJ told Jason all he could about the battle and what had happened to Zordon. Jason paced as he listened, unable to just stand still. He only interrupted a few times to ask for clarification. But as TJ explained Zordon's sacrifice and the choice Andros' had been forced to make Jason leaned against the wall and sank down to the ground. He didn't want to believe what he was hearing. _

"_We were losing, Jason," TJ sighed. "We were outnumbered without Zords and without help—"_

"_You should have called us!" Jason snarled. "There were eleven—no, twelve—rangers who would have dropped everything to help. We were just one call away. We could have done something!"_

"_This was our fight," TJ countered. "You aren't supposed to have to fight anymore."_

_Jason scoffed. _

"_Who cares about what we should and shouldn't have had to do?" Jason snapped. "We would have been there without a second thought." _

"_You aren't rangers anymo—" TJ tried to argue._

"_We are always going to be rangers!" Jason half shouted. "And that's because of Zordon. We owe everything to him—and none of us were there…"_

_There was a pause on the other end of the line._

"_I'm sorry…" TJ said quietly after a moment._

"_I don't want to hear it right now," Jason said shortly. "Because right now I have to figure out how to tell the others—Justin included."_

"_Carlos or I were going to call—" TJ started to say._

"_No," Jason interrupted. "I will tell him with the others. You focus on dealing with your media issues, because you'll get no help from the rest of us on that end. Our identities are going to remain a secret."_

"_It's not like we wanted to tell everyone," TJ protested. "We didn't have a choice—they were going to destroy the earth!"_

"_Still your problem, not mine," Jason countered. "You're just lucky the chances of anyone pegging Justin as your teammate are slim to none. He'd be in trouble if the grid didn't give him that height boost. Justin is thirteen. The last thing he needs is that kind of publicity."_

"_Yeah, I know," TJ grumbled. "But why am I talking to you about him? If I should be arguing with anyone about what's best for Justin it should be Tommy. The kid was his responsibility first."_

"_Because Tommy is in no shape to deal with you and your problems right now," Jason growled. "And that's all you need to know apart from this warning: Stay away from the others—all of them—until media attention dies down or I will personally make sure you regret approaching them. Because I am not letting you jeopardize anyone's personal lives because you want to visit. Got it?"_

"_Yeah, I got it," TJ muttered. "Loud and clear."_

"_Good," Jason said shortly. "Then I'll talk to you later."_

_Before TJ could say anything else, Jason hung up the phone. Sighing, he let his head fall back against the wall as he rubbed a hand over his face. He had no idea how he was going to break this news to Tommy, let alone anyone else. If he could even get a hold of them. Everyone except Zach and Billy had been in Angel Grove during the attack and none of them had been in contact with him or Tommy since. And from everything TJ had told him, there was a good chance Billy had been in the middle of a battle himself and that concerned Jason, too. He hadn't even heard from Zach in hours. _

"_I hope they're all ok," he muttered to himself. "No word from Angel Grove, no word from Aquitar…And I just know they all ended up in the middle of the fight somehow…"_

_Even Justin, who had moved away with his dad after the Space Rangers took off into space, had been in Angel Grove for a few days visiting with Adam and some of the others. The only rangers who hadn't been in the city when it was locked down had been Jason, Tommy, and Zach. _

"_I just can't believe he's gone…" Jason said quietly, shaking his head as he stared off at nothing._

_For a while, he sat where he was. More than anything he just wanted to scream or hit something, but he couldn't. His family was there and he was going to have to deal with Tommy's reaction—which wasn't going to be good. Losing Zordon was a major blow to all of them. It had been hard enough knowing he'd left earth, but to know that they could never contact him again was going to kill the rangers. Standing, Jason took a deep breath and headed back inside to break the news to Tommy. When he walked into the apartment, he saw Tommy pacing back and forth as he waited. Apparently Mrs. Oliver hadn't been able to coax him into relaxing at all while Jason was gone—not that it surprised him. Tommy was clearly agitated by the wait and not knowing what was going on. When the door opened, he spun to look at Jason in expectation._

"_We need to talk," Jason said evenly. "In private."_

_Nodding, Tommy took a shaky breath and spun toward his bedroom. Jason was right behind him, stopping Mrs. Oliver as she tried to follow. _

"_I'm sorry, Mrs. Oliver," he said. "But we need a few minutes—please?"_

_She hesitated, but Mr. Oliver put an arm around his wife's shoulders and nodded._

"_Go ahead," he said. "We'll be right out here if you need anything."_

_Jason smiled faintly, nodding in thanks as he headed into Tommy's room and shut the door. He locked it behind him just in case. _

"_What happened?" Tommy demanded the moment Jason turned to face him. _

"_You may want to sit," Jason said, not answering right away. "This isn't going to be easy…"_

_Tommy just crossed his arms, stubbornly staying on his feet as he glared in response. Jason sighed and shook his head. Taking a deep breath, he started repeating what TJ had told him from the beginning. At first Tommy stayed where he was, frozen in place as he listened to Jason. But as Jason started explaining just how badly the battle had been going, he slowly sank down on to his bed. Knowing it would be the final news about Zordon that would really get to Tommy, Jason made sure to avoid the subject until he was done explaining everything else. But he couldn't avoid it forever. Tommy didn't say a word until Jason stopped speaking—then he exploded like Jason had been expecting._

"_We should have been there!" Tommy snarled, back on his feet again. "It wasn't just their fight anymore. It was ours, too. Zordon should never have—he shouldn't—"_

_Cutting off, he started pacing agitatedly around the room, worse than he had been earlier. Jason stayed where he was, watching Tommy cautiously._

"_Just go, Jason," Tommy snapped, pausing to glare at him. "Leave me alone."_

_Jason hesitated._

"_Tommy, I don't thin—" he started to protest._

"_Go!" Tommy shouted, spinning and throwing the first thing he could lay his hands on._

_Jason ducked, barely avoiding getting hit in the head by the book Tommy had just thrown at him. It slammed into the door instead with a loud bang. Making a hasty retreat, Jason slipped out the door and shut it again, making sure it was locked. He was fairly certain Tommy wasn't going to do anything he wasn't supposed to, but there was no way Jason could stop him if he was really determined. Especially with their families there. During the few major relapses he'd had over the past two months Jason had either needed to enlist the help of the closest ranger to snap him out of it or wait for Tommy to collapse from exhaustion—though he avoided the latter option at all costs. But fighting with Tommy over using magic while their families were there would raise too many questions that neither of them was ready to answer. _

"_What was that noise?" Mrs. Oliver asked suspiciously the moment Jason turned away from Tommy's room. _

_He shrugged._

"_Tommy threw a book at me," he said. "He's just a little—upset—right now…"_

_Still standing right in front of the door, Jason could hear more muffled thuds coming from inside the room. He hoped that, whatever Tommy was throwing, he was using his hands and not magic. Just in case, he was still glad he'd locked the door behind him. _

"_He threw a book at you?" Mr. Oliver said in surprise. "That's not like him."_

"_Yeah…" Jason sighed, running a hand over his head. "It still isn't—usually. But he hasn't exactly been the best roommate the last couple of months. He has his moments. I guess I've just gotten used to dealing with the outbursts…"_

_The Olivers exchanged looks, as did the Roccas. But Madison and Vida just looked confused. _

"_Shouldn't Tommy be sad, not mad?" Vida asked. "His friend died…"_

_Jason flinched slightly at Vida's casual mention of Zordon's death. But he knew she didn't know any better, so he let it go. It was going to be hard playing host for the rest of the night without help._

"_He is sad, honey," Mrs. Rocca said, smoothing Vida's hair. "But he's also still sick and it's hard for him to handle right now."_

"_Because he's addicted?" Madison said solemnly. _

_Mrs. Rocca hesitated and then nodded. _

"_Yes," she said._

"_He shouldn't be in there alone when he's this upset," Mrs. Oliver decided, stepping around Jason._

_She tried opening the door, frowning when she realized it was locked. But it was quiet in there now. Turning around, she glared at Jason._

"_It's locked again," she said flatly. _

"_Yes, it is," he said, crossing his arms. "I locked it."_

"_Why would you do that?" she exclaimed. _

"_Because Tommy needs time to process everything," Jason answered. "Time alone. He'll come out when he's ready. And if he doesn't come out in a couple of hours, I have the key to his room or the tools to pop the hinges."_

_Mrs. Oliver started to protest more, but her husband stopped her. _

"_Let's listen to Jason right now," he said firmly. "He's been taking care of Tommy just fine and I'm sure he knows what he's doing."_

_As Mrs. Oliver nodded reluctantly, Jason gave Mr. Oliver a grateful look. Jason took a deep breath._

"_Alight," he said, trying to sound less upset. "How about we start a new game? Tommy's going to be a while and there's no point in staring at each other."_

_With everyone in agreement, they all crowded back around the coffee table in the living room to play. Tommy emerged from his room about an hour later, clearly still upset. He was visibly tense and Jason guessed he was fighting for control with everything he had. But Tommy didn't say a word as he curled up in a chair, ignoring all efforts to convince him to join the game. Mrs. Oliver tried coaxing him into talking to her about how he was feeling, but he had completely shut down. Tommy wouldn't talk to anyone, even the twins or Jason. _

"_Leave him alone, V," Jason said irritably, reaching over to tug Vida away from Tommy. _

_She'd been leaning on the arm of the chair, trying to get Tommy to talk while she waited her turn. She pouted, but sat back down._

"_I'm sorry," Jason muttered. "But he doesn't need that right now."_

_She stuck her tongue out at him, but went back to playing. For Jason, the rest of the afternoon seemed to drag by as he tried to keep their guests entertained while keeping a close eye on Tommy. He was trying to act like he was fine and that the news hadn't hit him like it did Tommy, but it was hard. And they couldn't both just shutdown like Tommy had with their families there. So, as much as Jason just wanted to scream and hit something, he fought to keep his cool. It didn't help that he'd yet to hear from any of the rangers in Angel Grove—and that was really starting to concern him. So, when he hadn't heard from the rangers by dinner time, he was really starting to struggle. _

"_Come on, Zach," he muttered, glancing at his phone again. "Or anyone. Someone please call and tell me you're alive…"_

_They had decided to order pizza because the apartment cupboards were a little bare for feeding all of them. As Mr. Rocca ordered, Jason started pacing anxiously around the room. The mothers were talking quietly as Mr. Oliver relaxed in a chair and the girls entertained themselves. As Jason passed Tommy's chair, Tommy reached out and grabbed his arm. Jason immediately stopped to look at him._

"_Have you heard anything from anyone?" Tommy asked quietly, his voice a little hoarse. _

_Jason sighed, shaking his head. _

"_Nothing," he said. "At least not since Zach this morning…I have no idea what's going on with any of them…"_

_Tommy nodded, falling silent again. It was the first time he'd spoken all afternoon. Jason hadn't pushed at him, though, knowing he'd talk more when he was ready. The first few days Jason had been there he'd barely spoken at all—though part of that was because he was trying to use magic again and Jason kept interrupting him. Jason had been trying to avoid stressing Tommy out more this afternoon by saying anything about the other rangers, but he should have known Tommy would pick up on his own stress._

"_Don't worry about it," Jason said, putting a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "They can take care of themselves."_

_He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt. But Tommy gave him a look and Jason knew he'd seen through his attempt. _

"_Pizza is on the way," Mr. Rocca announced, interrupting. _

_Jason turned away from Tommy. While they waited for the pizza to arrive, they started working out sleeping arrangements. Then Madison and Vida started fighting about which of them was sleeping where. Usually Jason could just tune out their arguments and let his parents deal with them, but today it instantly got to him. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath as he fought the urge to shout at the girls. _

"_I'll be right back," he snapped, spinning and stalking away._

_He went to his room, slamming the door behind him and not caring for a moment what anyone thought. For a few moments he just paced around in circles, trying to relax enough to go back out. But it wasn't working._

"_I can't do this anymore," he groaned, dropping on to his bed. _

_Taking out his phone, he dialed a number, pausing to take a deep breath before hitting send. It was answered on the second ring._

"Jason?" _Hayley said. _"Is everything alright? How's Tommy?"

"_He was better after our families showed up," Jason sighed. "But we got some bad news and—You know what? Can you just get over here? I can't deal with this by myself anymore. I'm tired of playing host and trying to pretend I'm alright when I'm not. And if I have to keep pretending much longer I may just explode."_

"Ok…"_ she said slowly. _"What exactly is going on?"

"_Oh, I don't know," Jason snapped, up and pacing again as he spoke. "How about we spent the morning thinking our families and friends were all dead? Or the fact that the rangers still could be dead and we have no idea because we can't get in contact with anyone who may have seen them? Or how about trying to deal with the fact that the Space Rangers have revealed themselves and possibly jeopardized all of our identities? Oh, and on top of all that, TJ called to tell us they lost Zordon. They found him and couldn't save him because he sacrificed himself to end the battle before everything was destroyed."_

_He cut off, panting slightly after his rant as he continued to pace. Hayley didn't say anything for a moment. _

"Alright," _she finally said. _"First of all, breathe. If I've learned anything at all about the rangers over the last couple of months it's that nothing ever seems to stop you permanently—you all just keep coming back. Secondly, have you tried anything other than cell phones to call them? I know several of you have mentioned communicators before."

"_Those don't work anymore," Jason growled. "Because Divatox blew up the Power Chamber!"_

"Ok, good to know," _Hayley said. _"Keep in mind I'm still new at this."

"_Would you just get over here?" Jason snapped. "Before I explode on someone? I need you to at least help with Tommy. He's not exactly taking losing Zordon well."_

"I'm already on my way," _she said shortly. _"And it sounds like you aren't taking it well either."

"_I'm not," he said. "Door is unlocked. Just let yourself in. We're having pizza for dinner."_

_Hanging up, he took another deep breath. Heading toward the door, Jason sighed and rubbed a hand over his face as he reached for the handle. Forcing himself to try and look more cheerful, he took a deep breath and walked back out into the living room. The girls had quieted down and each was doing their own thing for the moment, which meant Vida had on headphones and Madison was reading. Jason was still grateful when the door opened a short time later and Hayley came waltzing in. She paused just long enough to see where everyone was before walking over to introduce herself to the parents. _

"_Hi!" she said brightly, smiling at the Olivers and Roccas. "I'm Hayley Ziktor, Tommy's study partner. I've been helping Jason out a lot. You must be the Olivers and I'm guessing you're Jason's parents."_

_They nodded and introductions went around._

"_Tommy's said almost nothing about you," Mrs. Oliver beamed. "But you seem like a wonderful girl."_

_Hayley smiled back and soon everyone had settled in to talk. Taking over as hostess, Hayley kept the attention on herself to give both Jason and Tommy a break. She talked about school and helping Tommy catch up with classes before the semester ended so that he wouldn't fail. And she asked question after question about the Olivers and the Roccas and life in Angel Grove—anything to keep them at least slightly distracted. And when the pizza arrived, she immediately hopped up to get plates out and enlisted the girls to help while Mr. Rocca paid for the food. And she continued to direct the conversation after they all had food, though she did pause to glare at Tommy when he didn't immediately start eating. He muttered under his breath, but took a bite anyways, which just made Mrs. Oliver like Hayley that much more. Jason had only taken a few bites of his own pizza when his phone started going off. He immediately whipped it out of his pocket and answered without looking at the number._

"_Hello?" he said quickly, hoping to hear a familiar voice._

"Jason? It's Zach," _said Zach. _"Guess what? I've got signal again!"

"_Zach!" Jason exclaimed, standing abruptly and striding toward his room. "Where are you?"_

_Tommy's head jerked up when he heard Zach's name, but Jason just held up a hand and kept going. Hayley glanced after him and then went back to talking with their families to give Jason a chance to figure things out. _

"I'm in Angel Grove," _Zach was saying to Jason. _"It took forever to get in—they weren't letting anyone into the city who wasn't an emergency responder… But I finally found someone who recognized me as a local with family. They got me in. If they hadn't I was going to be resorting to other things—like morphing."

_Jason shut his door behind him as he rolled his eyes. _

"_Yeah, that would have gone well," he said. "Did you find the others? Please tell me you found the others."_

"Well, kind of…" _Zach said._

"_Zach!" Jason snapped. _

"Geez, don't be so snippy," _Zach said. _"They found me, ok? We're all at Adam's house lying low for a while. His mom wasn't home this weekend, so there's no one but us here. Did you hear what the Space Rangers did?"

"_Oh, I heard," Jason growled. "Where's Trini?"_

"She's right here," _he answered. _"Just came into the room. Her phone got stepped on by one of those drones last night when it fell out of her pocket… Yeah, I got a hold of Jason. He's—ok, ok! You don't have to threaten me!"

"Jason?" _Trini said, her voice replacing Zach's. _

"_Oh thank goodness," he sighed, dropping on to his bed. "Are you alright? How's everyone else? Are all of you ok?"_

"Fine for the most part," _she answered. _"Some of us are a little worse for wear. We were trying to help people get away and got caught up in some of the fighting…"

"_Great," Jason muttered, shaking his head. "No serious injuries?"_

"Nothing too bad," _she said. _"Cuts and bruises all around, of course, and possibly some minor sprains or fractures—and a good chance of a concussion in Adam's case. He hit his head pretty hard last night rescuing Justin and Kat."

"_Rescuing?" Jason frowned, not liking the sounds of that._

"Nothing bad," _she said quickly. _"They got cornered with some civilians. Kat had caught her ankle in some of the rubble and hurt it and Justin couldn't take the drones alone so they were being forced along. We couldn't risk Justin being seen—too high a chance Divatox may have told whoever was in charge about him being a ranger. Not to mention the space rangers would have had trouble putting him in danger…"

_Jason sighed, nodding._

"_Any of us would," he said. "He's just a kid. I'm guessing you guys got them out alright, then?"_

"Of course," _she said. _"But it was dark by that point and Adam misjudged his footing. The rubble moved under him while he was fighting and he slipped and cracked his head. We got out of there as quickly as possible after that. The bleeding stopped no long after we got here, but we're still keeping an eye on him."

"_Good," said Jason. "Now why haven't any of you called until now?"_

_Trini sighed. _

"Because there's no service," _she said. _"For cells or landlines. Towers and phone lines are down all over the city. Zach was finally able to get through because Justin managed to boost the receiver enough to pick up a satellite signal. He's been trying all afternoon…"

"_Fair enough," Jason grumbled. "You have no idea how worried we've been…"_

"I'm sorry," _she said softly. _"How's Tommy holding up after all of this? We all felt that burst of magic this morning."

_Jason hesitated, not sure how much he wanted to tell her at that moment. _

"_He's been better," he finally said. "But there's something we need to talk about."_

"What is it?" _she asked. _

_There was a knock on the door and he could hear one of his sisters saying something. _

"_I can't talk about it right now," he said quietly. "Keep everyone together and lay low. Tell Justin to try and get a hold of Billy—Aquitar was attacked, too. And I don't care what the kid has to dismantle for parts. We need to make sure he's ok. Then get everyone ready for a video call at midnight. I'll have Hayley hack a satellite if I have to."_

"She can do that?" _Trini said in surprise. _

"_Apparently," Jason muttered. "She said something about trying it in high school just to see if she could—please don't give Justin that idea."_

_Trini laughed. _

"I won't," _she said. _"Promise."

"_Then I'll talk to you tonight," he said, smiling. _

"I love you," _Trini said softly. _

"_I love you, too," he said. "Be careful over there. Take care of yourselves."_

"You, too," _she said. _"And take care of Tommy."

"_Don't worry about him," Jason said. "Hayley is all over that right now."_

_Trini laughed again and they hung up. Just in time, too, because his door flew open and Madison and Vida came tumbling in. They were talking excitedly about something Hayley had just told them. Feeling slightly better now that he knew his friends were alright, Jason allowed himself to be pulled out of the room with them. _

_Later that night, Jason moved silently around the living room as he got the computer out and set up. He'd made sure he had everything he would need before everyone went to bed that night. The Olivers were in Tommy's room while the Rocca's were in Jason's. The twins were passed out in the corner on an air mattress they'd scrounged up. Tommy, on the other hand, was stretched out on the couch, fast asleep. He was exhausted from a long day of fighting with his magic. Hayley had left about an hour ago, after telling Jason to call her if they had any problems getting the video call connected. He'd pulled her aside briefly after dinner to explain a little more of what was going on. She'd taken it in stride, ready to help however they needed. _

"_Alright," he muttered quietly to himself. "This had better work."_

_With everything connected, he settled down into the chair next to the couch with the computer in his lap. Dialing the video call, he waited anxiously for the others to answer. He'd been replaying this conversation in his head all evening—it never ended well. He just hoped no one was loud enough to wake anyone up. The call connected and Jason breathed a sigh of relief as Justin appeared on the screen. _

"Hey, Jason," _he grinned. _"Give me a minute to connect Billy and then I'll figure out how to get everyone in camera view."

"_Alright, kid," Jason said, extremely relieved to hear they'd gotten a hold of Billy. "Just make sure everyone knows to keep it down. Tommy and I have visitors who can't overhear this call."_

_Justin nodded and, after a few moments, the screen shifted to accommodate another video. Billy appeared in the small box, smiling wearily when he saw Jason. _

"Greetings," _he said._

"_Hey, Billy," Jason smiled back. _

_Things started shifting around again as Justin finished connecting all of the computers into the call. Apparently he'd decided it would be easier to use multiple cameras instead of crowding into the view of one. Jason could tell they were all still in the same room, though. He recognized Adam's basement. Fortunately it didn't take long to get everything straightened out so he could see everyone at one time. Adam was sitting in an armchair, his head still bandaged, with Tanya curled up in the chair with him as the computer sat on his lap. Kat had joined Justin at his computer. Kim, Trini, and Aisha were crowded together on another screen. Jason was a little surprised to see Aisha. He knew she was coming back soon, but he hadn't realized she was back already. Rocky and Zach were sharing the last camera, sprawled on the basement floor in front of their camera. _

"_Hey, Aisha," Jason said, focusing on her for a moment. "When did you get home?"_

"Three days ago," _she said. _"Just before everything started. Some homecoming, right?"

_He nodded, glancing around at the group. All of the rangers looked exhausted. Jason could see several besides Adam sporting bandages and bruises. They really had put themselves right in the middle of everything._

"Where's Tommy?" _Kat asked._

"_He's sleeping," Jason answered, turning the computer so they could see Tommy on the couch. "It was a long day for both of us…"_

_He turned the camera back on himself. _

"How has the magic thing been going?"_ Rocky asked. _"You haven't called for help in a few weeks."

"_There are good days and bad days," Jason said with a shrug. "But he's been a lot better. Today wasn't a good day, though…"_

"Sorry, Jason," _Adam said quietly. _"One of us should have been there…"

_Jason shook his head. _

"_You guys have dealt with enough between today and yesterday," he said. "I was fine with Tommy. I just wish I could say the fighting was the end of it…"_

_He paused again, hesitating as he tried to decide what to say next. _

"Jason, what did you need to talk to all of us for?" _Trini asked. _"The way you sounded earlier it seemed important."

"But should we be talking with your family there?" _Zach asked. _"One team is outed already—I vote not following their example."

_All of the other rangers quickly nodded in agreement. _

"You don't think anyone knows about me, do you?" _Justin asked nervously. _

_Jason shook his head. _

"_Don't worry, kid," Jason said. "No one is going to find out anything."_

"Justin, you have nothing to worry about," _Billy added. _"Of all of us, you are the least suspect. Due to the morphing grid's acceleration of your body's age while morphed, the chances of an individual realizing it is you in the uniform are virtually nonexistent. Most would not think it was possible and therefore would never make the assumption. It is others who have had connections with them who are in the most danger."

"_But you still need to keep your distance for the moment," Jason added. "Or you might get caught up in all the media hype."_

"Yeah, I know," _Justin sighed, nodding. _

_The rest of the rangers were still looking at Jason expectantly. They all wanted to know what he had to tell them. He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. _

"_I really don't know how to say this…" he muttered, shaking his head. "I really just don't want to say it…"_

"Just spill, man," _Rocky said, stifling a yawn. _"We're all ready to sleep…"

"_Don't start, Rocky," Jason snapped. "I'm still not in the mood for that."_

_Rocky looked at him in surprise, taken aback by his tone. _

"Jason, please?" _Trini said quietly._

_He sighed again. _

"_It's about Zordon," he finally said. _

_That caught all of their attention. Everyone started talking at once, asking question after question and talking over each other._

"_Enough!" Jason hissed. "My sisters are sleeping on the other side of the room and if you wake them up this conversation is over!"_

_All of the rangers froze, looking at him in surprise._

"They're in the same room?" _Tanya repeated. _"I thought they were just there…"

_Jason nodded._

"_There really wasn't another place for them to sleep tonight," he said. "Our parents are in the bedrooms and there's not enough room to put them on the floor in there…So we have to keep it down. They're usually pretty hard to wake up, but I'm not kidding when I say I will hang up on you if I have to."_

_All of them nodded in understanding. _

"So they found Zordon?"_ Kim said hopefully._

"_Yes, but—" Jason cut off, hesitating again._

_This had been something he had never thought any of them would have to say. The news was going to kill all of them._

"But what?" _Adam asked, frowning. _

_Jason took a deep breath._

"_Zordon is gone," he said reluctantly. "That burst of magic this morning was a wave of his energy…He asked—no, he ordered Andros to destroy his tube. Zordon—Zordon sacrificed himself to end the battle…"_

_For a brief moment, the rangers stared at him in stunned silence. _

"No," _Kim said adamantly, shaking her head as she broke the silence. _"That's—that can't be right."

_The others were shaking their heads now, too._

"That's not funny, Jason," _Zach said. _"It really isn't."

"_I'm not joking!" Jason snapped. "I wouldn't lie to you about this."_

"But you're just taking someone else's word for it," _Zach protested. _"What if they're wrong? Or lying? Where's their proof?"

"Lying about Zordon's death would serve no purpose for the space rangers," _Billy said quietly. _"All it would gain them is our ire—and they know enough of us to understand the consequences. They are fully aware of our loyalties to him and the danger we would present to their team as a united front should they attempt to keep him from us in such a way. So no, they would not lie about this…"

_Jason gave Billy a grateful look. The news itself was hard enough, he didn't want to argue about whether or not it was true._

"_And Tommy is our proof," Jason added, glancing toward the couch. "Zordon shared his energy with Tommy before—when he charged the green ranger powers and during the creation of the white. Tommy recognized the energy this afternoon once TJ mentioned Zordon. He just hadn't made the connection this morning. Zordon really is gone…"_

_Most of the girls had started crying. Tanya was sobbing into Adam's shoulder as he hugged her tightly, a look of complete shock and disbelief still on his face. Rocky and Zach had abandoned their camera and were now visible onscreen with Trini, Kim, and Aisha. Trini had tears streaming down her face as she stared blankly at the camera. Kim was shaking and hanging on Aisha as both of them cried. _

"Come on, Kimmie," _Zach said, his voice rough as he tried not to cry himself. _"Don't cry…"

_As he put a hand on her shoulder, she spun and flung herself at him as she cried harder. Rocky put an arm around Aisha and she turned to cry into his shoulder. Zach put his other around Trini, pulling her into a hug as well. Billy was no longer visible on screen, though the call was still connected. Kat was crying softly in her chair, her face in her hands. Sitting next to her, Justin looked like he was fighting hard not to cry with her. For a while, none of them spoke as they mourned the loss of their long-time mentor and friend. _

"So what now?" _Trini asked a while later. _

"_Now we make sure nothing like this ever happens again," Jason said grimly._

_The tears were mostly under control now and the rangers had spread back out again, though not all were at the same cameras as before. Zach had stayed with Kim and Trini while Aisha had moved back with Rocky. Kim was still sniffling with Zach's arm around her shoulders. Billy was also back. _

"What do you mean, Jason?" _Adam asked, frowning._

"_The space rangers didn't call us for help because they didn't think they could," Jason explained. "And that's a problem."_

"Why didn't they think they could call us?" _Kim cried. _"We could have—we would have helped!"

"_I know," Jason said. "And, from now on, we're going to make sure we're all on the same page. We aren't losing anyone else like this—not if we can help it."_

_The other rangers nodded, murmuring their agreements. _

"So what do we do?" _Zach asked. _

"_We keep everyone connected," Jason said. "And we watch out for each other and any future teams, whether they know us or not."_

"We already talk to each other all the time," _Aisha pointed out. _"Even when I was in Africa."

"I believe Jason is speaking on a larger scale,"_ Billy said. _"Something that would be more permanent that teams who come later could continue to use. Jason, are you thinking something along the lines of a network program similar to how we used our communicators? Something that would allow us to keep track of each other and any future teams?"

"_Exactly," Jason said, nodding. "And I'm going to need your help, Billy. You, Justin, and Hayley."_

"Hold on a moment, Jason," _Kat said, frowning. _"You're including Hayley, but should we really be pulling her in like this? She isn't one of us."

"_She is now," Jason sighed. "Whether we like it or not. She knows our secret. But Tommy trusts her, and, no matter how much she irritates me sometimes, so do I. Hayley has had every opportunity over the past couple of months to use our secret to her advantage and she hasn't. Tommy and I have both spoken with her and she promised to hold to our code in anything involving the rangers. That means that, while she may never actually be a ranger, she is going to be one of us from now on."_

_The others nodded, though several of them still seemed reluctant to welcome her into their number so easily. They talked quietly for a little while longer, making sure they were all on the same page in understanding what Jason had in mind. Essentially he wanted to set up a communication network for the rangers that had a line of responsibility with the newest team on the bottom and the most experienced on the top. That way if a new team ran into trouble there was a protocol to follow for who went to help them instead of having the whole group of them converge on the problem. _

"So who's gets to be leader and take charge of this whole mess?" _Rocky asked, grinning at Jason. _"You or Tommy?"

_Jason glared at him. _

"_Me," he said._

_Trini raised an eyebrow, giving him a look._

"_Alright, both of us," Jason grumbled. "But Tommy doesn't get to make decisions until he's done recovering. More stress is the last thing he needs right now."_

"But what happens if the space rangers don't accept your authority in power ranger business?" _Tanya asked._ "Or any of the new teams that come along? What then?"

"_I don't expect everyone to just follow my orders," Jason said, shaking his head. "All I expect is that they give respect where it's due and understand that there is a chain of command for a reason. There has to be order or things don't get done."_

"He has a point," _Zach agreed. _"The only time we listened to him in high school was when we were focused on ranger stuff. Same thing applies here. We can teach rookie teams that."

_He was grinning now, too. Jason rolled his eyes. _

"_Maybe I should just let Tommy have all of you," he muttered, shaking his head. _

"Don't worry, oh great red ranger," _Zach laughed._ "You know we'll all follow you and Tommy to the end."

"Without hesitation,"_ Trini agreed. _

"No matter how many times it nearly gets us killed," _Rocky added with a grin. _

_Jason tried to glare at them, but with everyone smiling now he couldn't keep it up. _

"_Why do I put myself through this?" he grumbled, trying not to smile back. _

"Because you would miss us if we were gone," _Trini said. _"Now I think it's time we all got some sleep. We all need it…"

"_Yeah, get some sleep," Jason said, nodding. "Lay low for a while and take care of yourselves." _

"We'll be careful," _Trini said. _"Now that the worst is over…You take care of Tommy for us."

_Jason chuckled. _

"_I will," he said. "Goodnight everyone and we'll talk soon. May the Power protect us all."_

_As the other rangers echoed his farewell they started hanging up. When everyone was gone, Jason yawned and shut the computer before putting it away. Grabbing a pillow and a blanket, he did his best to get comfortable on the floor. He drifted off to sleep muttering to himself about tomorrow being Tommy's turn on the floor._


	24. Chapter 24

"This guy is going down!" Vida growled as they ran down the street.

"Keep running!" Madison shouted.

She and Vida were blocking attacks coming from behind as Chip helped Nick. That initial blast he'd taken to the leg had hit hard. Even the boosted healing abilities from being morphed were taking a while to heal the injury.

"Look out!" Chip cried as an attack came from the front.

They all dived out of the way, Chip pulling Nick with him. Hitting the ground, they rolled and immediately started getting back to their feet.

"We gotta keep moving," Vida said.

They lifted their staffs together.

"Finishio!" they cried, disappearing in a swirl of magic.

"Great," Adam muttered.

"Now what?" said Rocky.

"We've got to find them," Adam said. "Before they're all taken."

Rocky nodded and they took off, searching for the rangers.

Tommy caught a glimpse of the rangers disappearing from the street. Though he didn't see Rocky and Adam, he knew they'd be nearby. Hoping they'd make the same guess as he did as to where the rangers would go, he darted toward the forest. And he was right. Four of the kids were stumbling through the trees. Chip was still supporting Nick.

"Great, Nick's hurt," Tommy muttered, watching from a short distance away. "And where's Xander?"

"We should make a break for Rootcore," Vida panted.

Nick shook his head

"I don't want to jeopardize the base," he said. "This guy can follow us anywhere."

"I'm running out of suggestions," Chip muttered as they came to a stop. "If this was a role-playing game, I'd give myself a time-out."

Nick sunk down to the ground to rest for a moment and Vida crouched down next to him. Chip and Madison stayed upright, on the defensive.

"At least we have some cover from the trees," Madison said, glancing around.

"Whoa!" they exclaimed as trees started disappearing around them.

Magic blasts were flying around them. Tommy crouched down, trying to stay out of the line of fire. Deciding not being seen was his best chance, he used his invisibility.

"Glad this didn't go with the ranger powers," he muttered to himself, watching his surroundings warily. "Benefit of genetic abilities."

"You were saying?" Chip said.

"Guess I spoke too soon," Madison said, looking around.

Chip got Nick back up and they started to move again.

"We're in trouble!" Vida cried.

"_You can't hide from me!" _Oculus laughed, his voice seeming to come from everywhere at the same time.

Vida, turning to make sure the others were behind her, didn't see the blast coming. It struck her dead on and she quickly faded away. Tommy stared in shock as the rangers cried out.

"Sis!" Madison screamed, running forward.

"Vida!" Nick cried, falling as he reached for her.

Madison fell to the ground where her sister had been standing.

"No!" she gasped.

"Vida!" Nick said again, shaking his head.

Chip ran to Madison.

"Hey, Maddy, you okay?" he asked, taking her arm.

"No!" she snapped.

"Vida!" Nick shouted.

Chip, realizing they needed to keep moving, hauled Madison to her feet and ran for Nick. Getting them both up, he started them moving again.

"Come on," he said grimly. "We gotta find cover!"

They started running back toward town again. Shaking himself, Tommy was moving to follow when he saw someone else watching them run. Making a quick decision, Tommy spun to face the other person present.

"Who's there?" he demanded, stalking forward cautiously. "Come out."

As the figure came out from behind the tree, Tommy looked at him in surprise.

"Who are you?" Tommy asked.

"I should ask the same of you," was the response.

"I'm a friend of the rangers," Tommy answered. "What's going on?"

After a moment of hesitation, he got an answer.

"I'm Phineas," the odd looking man said. "I saw you with the rangers before."

"Yeah," Tommy nodded distractedly. "What is happening to them?"

"They're being hunted," Phineas said, wringing his hands. "And if the Terrors get a hold of Nick, all will be lost."

"But what about the others?" Tommy asked, glancing toward where Vida had vanished.

"Oculus has taken them," he said. "I have to make sure he doesn't take Nick."

"No one is taking anyone else," Tommy growled. "Let's go."

Phineas looked at him in surprise, but nodded.

"There they are!" Adam exclaimed, finally sighting the rangers again. "But where's Vida?"

"Oh no," Rocky muttered. "You don't think—"

Adam nodded.

"That monster must have got her," he said grimly. "Jason's not going to like this."

The kids stumbled down an alley, Nick still favoring his leg and leaning on Chip.

"Wait," Nick panted. "Wait, stop for a second."

Chip carefully let him down. Holding his leg, Nick tried to catch his breath—as did Madison and Chip.

"Nick, we can't stop," Madison said.

"I'm gonna surrender," Nick sighed.

"What?" Chip exclaimed in shock.

Rocky and Adam looked at each other in surprise.

"If he gives himself up they'll never get the other two back," Adam said, shaking his head. "He can't surrender."

"So how do we stop him?" Rocky muttered. "Tommy said to stay out of sight and out of the fight."

"I don't know," Adam said. "But we may have to step in whether we want to or not."

"It didn't used to be this frustrating," Rocky sighed.

"That's because back then we could just charge in and save the day," Adam said, shaking his head. "Now it's their turn—and we can't stop them from making the same kinds of mistakes we did…"

"You can't," Madison was saying. "We're a team."

"It's me they're after," Nick insisted. "If I give up it will save Xander and Vida."

He gasped in pain, shaking his head. Madison and Chip were both adamantly disagreeing.

"If it's you they're after, it's you we have to protect," Chip said firmly as Madison nodded in agreement.

"Watch out!" she suddenly cried, placing herself in front of Nick.

A beam struck her and she cried out in pain, falling backward. But before she hit the ground, Madison disappeared.

"Maddy!" Nick cried.

"Oh, no!" Chip exclaimed.

"Someone's gonna die," Rocky muttered. "Because Jason is not gonna like this…"

Adam nodded in agreement. Chip pulled Nick to his feet again and both boys stumbled back toward the forest. This time Adam and Rocky stayed as close as they could, not wanting to lose sight of them again.

"Hope Tommy catches up soon…" Adam said as they followed.

Chip and Nick were still moving slowly. They powered down after they got into the forest, hoping to blend in a little more. Ducking and hiding behind trees, they tried to figure out a way to stay out of sight.

"You know he's gonna find us," Nick panted, leaning back against a tree.

Both of them were looking around warily, not sure where the next attack was going to come from.

"I've been thinking," Chip said, stepping away from the tree. "He's probably in another dimension, which allows him to follow us wherever we go."

He was glancing around as he spoke, trying to make a decision on a direction.

"If we could make—" he continued.

"Stop," Nick interrupted. "I'm gonna give myself up."

"What?" Chip exclaimed, staring at him in surprise.

Rocky and Adam, hiding a short distance away, groaned.

"Don't do that, kid," Adam muttered. "It won't get your friends back and it'll just end in disaster…"

"We've gotta stop this," Rocky said, shaking his head. "The rookie is going to get us all killed."

"We can't interfere," Adam said firmly.

"Yeah, I know," Rocky sighed. "Tommy said to stay out of sight and don't get caught up in anything."

"I'm not gonna lose all my friends," Nick was saying. "If there's something I can do to stop it."

Chip shook his head adamantly.

"But if you surrender you'll destroy everything that we stand for," he argued. "We're power rangers. Do you really think that's what Xander, Vida, and Madison would want you to do?"

He turned, frustrated with Nick, as a blast came flying straight at him. Rocky and Adam both jerked to dive for him even though they knew they were too far away. But before it struck Chip, a blurred figured tackled him out of the way. They both tumbled to the ground as the blast struck the tree instead.

"Oh, sure," Rocky muttered. "Tommy gets to interfere."

Adam just shrugged. Nick was staring at Tommy in complete shock as he got up, crouching next to Chip.

"Tommy?" Nick said slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"Come on kid, get up," Tommy muttered, carefully shaking Chip's shoulder. "I'm here for the girls' birthday—great way to celebrate."

He directed the last part at Nick, glancing over his shoulder at him. Chip wasn't moving.

"Is he alright?" Nick asked, clearly concerned.

"He'll be fine after he wakes up," Tommy answered, checking over him. "Looks like he hit his head on a tree root or something when I tackled him. Not my intention…Come on, Chip. Not the time to be sleeping. Crazy hunter on the loose trying to take you all prisoner."

Focused on trying to wake up Chip so they could get moving again, Tommy didn't hear Nick slipping away. But Rocky and Adam did. Breaking cover, they ran to Tommy.

"Tommy!" Adam exclaimed, stopping next to them. "You've got a problem."

"What are you two doing?" Tommy snapped, glaring up at them. "You're breaking our cover!"

"Rookie is gone," Rocky said, gesturing toward where Nick had been standing.

Tommy's head whipped around. Seeing no sign of Nick, he groaned and got back to his feet.

"And we've got a bigger problem," Adam said. "He's planning on sacrificing himself to save the others."

"Great," Tommy growled. "Alright, the two of you stay here. I'm going after him."

Rocky put a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't kill the rookie," he said.

"I'm not going to yet," Tommy muttered. "Though he's well on his way down that path. You two just stay with this one. Keep him out of trouble and try not to let him see you if he wakes up. I've gotta catch Nick."

"Alright," Adam said. "So long as there's no green coming out."

He grinned as Tommy shot a glare at them.

"Nope, they're brown," Rocky grinned.

Shaking his head, Tommy took off.

"I'll take care of you two later," he called back as he darted after Nick.

"So, now what?" Rocky said, looking down at Chip.

Adam sighed, reaching down to pull Chip up.

"Let's get him out of sight," he said. "Hopefully that hunter's focus is on Nick now and not us."

_I have to end this, once and for all… _Nick sighed to himself, leaning against a tree.

Chip was still free, but if Oculus knew that it wouldn't be long before the yellow ranger was lost, too. Nick hoped Tommy could keep him safe long enough for Nick to end this. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out from behind the tree.

"Come on you coward!" he shouted, clenching his fists. "Show yourself! I surrender!"

"_Yes, the game is over," _Oculus' voice echoed around him._ "I have won."_

Nick breathed an internal sigh of relief. If Oculus thought he had won, that meant he didn't realize he'd missed Chip. He wasn't sure how Tommy had managed to move that fast, but right now he was just grateful for it. And maybe, just maybe, if he could stall long enough the sun would set with Chip still free.

"It's me you want," Nick growled. "Let my friends go! I won't even fight you."

He stayed standing out in the open, ready for Oculus to take him.

"_Have it your way," Oculus said. "You will be my biggest prize yet."_

"No!" he heard Tommy shout as a beam came flying toward him.

Then he was tackled out of the way, tumbling to the ground. But it wasn't Tommy he saw. It was Phineas.

"Come on!" Phineas cried, starting to drag him away.

Nick struggled, wanting to continue with his sacrifice. Then Tommy was there. Grabbing Nick in a headlock, he dragged him out of sight behind some bushes and a fallen tree. Phineas stayed with thm.

"I should have known it's you, Phineas!" Nick growled. "And you need to stay out of this, Tommy!"

"Good to see you, too," Phineas said as Tommy looked around warily. "I just saved a life, again. We all have things we're good at."

Nick struggled against Tommy's grip, trying to break free. But Tommy wasn't letting go.

"Let me go!" Nick demanded. "I must surrender to save the others!"

Tommy shook his head.

"Not a chance, rookie," he snapped.

Phineas was shaking his head, too.

"Interesting conundrum," he said, looking at Nick. "You have to save us all."

"What?" Nick frowned. "What are you talking about?"

He stopped fighting as hard, though he was still trying to pry Tommy's arm away.

"You are the Light, the key to destroying the Underworld," Phineas explained. "What a burden, I know. But if you surrender, then we're all lost—every bird, squirrel, and fly, caterpillar, alligator, flea—well, no one really cares about the flea, except maybe another flea—"

"Okay, okay, okay. I'm the Light," Nick muttered. "But they're my friends. What am I supposed to do? And would you let go!"

Tommy loosened his grip slightly, allowing Nick to pull away. But he was ready to tackle him again if Nick tried to take off and sacrifice himself.

"Not sacrifice yourself," Tommy growled. "I've done too much work for you to throw it all away."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nick frowned. "And how else am I supposed to save them? Oculus has Xander, Vida, and Maddy."

"Trust me," Tommy said, ignoring the first question. "Sacrificing yourself will not get them back. Whatever Oculus says, all you'd be doing by surrendering is handing over the city to them—and by default, the world. I am not going to let you do that."

"Then what do I do?" Nick yelled in frustration, clenching his fists as he glared at Tommy.

"Not something stupid," Tommy muttered, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "Mmm… I thought I was done with this…the migraines are back…"

"What does your heart tell you?" Phineas asked, looking at Nick.

"Heart?" Nick repeated, turning his attention to the troblin.

"Yeah," Phineas nodded.

"Heart…" Nick frowned. "Fire Heart…That's it!"

His head shot up as the answer finally dawned on him.

"I am the Light!" he exclaimed. "Thanks again, Phineas!"

He turned to look at Tommy, who was watching him intently. Phineas slipped away, not wanting to be anywhere near the fighting when it started.

"Thanks, Tommy," he said. "You're right. Sacrificing myself won't get them back. But I am going to get them back—all of them."

Tommy nodded.

"Go get 'em, kid," he said.

Taking a deep breath, Nick turned around and pulled out his morpher.

"Legendary source, Mystic Force!" he cried.

Before Tommy realized what was happening, the world shifted around him. Nick had moved dimensions and Tommy had gotten caught up in the spell. He looked around in shock, slightly disoriented by the sudden change in location.

"Show yourself," Nick demanded, looking around. "Face me!"

"I see you finally came to your senses," Oculus said, appearing out of thin air.

Muttering to himself, Tommy darted for cover. He hadn't intended on being this close to the fight. And the last thing he wanted right now was for someone to see him. Without any morphers, he'd probably just get himself killed if he got too close.

"This isn't going to end well," he grumbled, ducking behind an old wall.

"Yeah, I did," Nick growled at Oculus. "And you're going down!"

"Oh really?" Oculus scoffed. "Rise!"

A swarm of creatures appeared, led by Necrolai.

"Well, well," Necrolai smirked.

"Perhaps you should have surrendered," Oculus laughed.

Nick was completely surrounded by the enemy—and hopelessly outnumbered.

"I hope you know what you're doing, kid," Tommy muttered, peering around the wall.

"Fire Heart!" Nick called, raising his hand. "Red Dragon Fire Ranger!"

There was a loud roar and suddenly Fire Heart came flying in. Tommy looked at the dragon in surprise.

"They have a dragon!" he exclaimed. "A real dragon."

"That beast!" Necrolai cried, ducking as Fire Heart swooped over them.

The dragon landed behind Nick, who flipped up onto his back.

"Let's go Fire Heart!" Nick shouted, holding on tight.

Fire Heart took off into the sky, Nick cling to his back.

"Attack!" Necrolai screamed, pointing at them.

Beams of magic started shooting toward Nick and Fire Heart as they tried to blast them from the sky. But Fire Heart shot a blast of fire back at them, taking a lot down. Then Nick and Fire Heart both transformed, joining together into a new ranger form for Nick.

"Who's giving up now?" Nick smirked, landing in the middle of the mob of creatures. "I am the Light!"

"Go!" Oculus shouted.

"Get him!" ordered Necrolai.

"And now he gets to bond with the dragon," Tommy muttered, ducking behind the wall again. "That's not fair…All I got is the dragon zord—cool, but not the same thing…"

The enemy had charged Nick. He was fighting hard, taking them down easily with his new ranger form. Bonding with Fire Heart had given him a strength boost.

"You want some more?" he growled, glaring around him.

As more creatures charged, Nick jabbed one with his staff—now in a new form. He blasted it backward through a wall. Unfortunately, it was the wall Tommy had been hiding behind. Tommy rolled out of the way, covering his head as pieces of rocked rained down around him. Using his invisibility to stay out of sight, he ran for cover again. Nick was fighting really well, taking down his attackers with ease.

"Yeah, alright!" he exclaimed, leaping around and attack. "Take this!"

Magic crackled and glowed on his sword and staff as he fought, taking down more creatures. But he was also causing a lot of destruction. Fortunately it was ruins he was destroying. Unfortunately, Tommy was quickly running out of walls to hide behind. Another wall exploded next to him and he tumbled out of the way, trying to protect himself as best he could.

"Consider yourselves rocked!" Nick shouted.

He slammed his sword and staff down to the ground in a magical attack. The earth shook and several explosions went off. Tommy, who had been moving for cover again, was blown off of his feet by the edge of an explosion. He momentarily lost control of his invisibility, but no one saw him. Landing hard, he instinctively tucked himself into a ball as debris rained down around him.

"Yeah, baby!" Nick exclaimed.

He threw his weapons like boomerangs, sending them in a distance attack. They spun with magic, taking down any they touched and flying back.

"Slow learners," he scoffed.

Leaping into the air, he shot fire down on another group of creatures.

"Fire!" he shouted.

The last of the creatures fell under his attack. Landing, he spun to face Oculus.

"Oculus, you're next!" he cried, pointing his weapons at the hunter.

"So be it," Oculus said, looking around in surprise. "One on one, ranger."

The hunter didn't have a choice. He was alone against Nick. Tommy groaned, pushing himself up. He leaned back against a nearby wall, panting as he watched Nick face down Oculus. A bright green slash of magic shot toward him, but Nick blocked it. As he did every attack Oculus threw at him.

"Give me back my friends!" Nick demanded.

"Never!" Oculus laughed.

He sent another strike at Nick. But instead of blocking, Nick unfurled a set of dragon wings and leapt into the sky. Tommy stared at him.

"And now he gets to fly," he grumbled, shaking his head and wincing.

"No!" Oculus cried.

Nick launched a powerful attack at Oculus. The hunter, having underestimated the red ranger, fell to his power. Oculus was destroyed.

"Red Dragon Fire Ranger!" Nick exclaimed, punching the air. "Yeah!"

Sighing, he spun. As Nick began the spell to return to their original dimension, Tommy shoved himself to his feet and stumbled forward. He didn't want to get left behind and he was fairly certain Nick had no idea he was there. He made it in time, the familiar setting of the forest quickly appearing around him. Nick powered down and went sprinting to find his friends, but Tommy stayed where he was for a moment to pull himself together.

"Do you think Tommy's alright?" Rocky sighed, looking around. "It's been awfully quiet…"

Adam shook his head, checking on Chip again.

"I hope so," he said. "But the quiet worries me. Ranger fights are never this quiet…"

They'd been waiting for a while now. Chip was still unconscious and there was no sign of Tommy, Nick, or any of the other rangers.

"If anything happens to Tommy, Jason is going to flip," Rocky muttered.

A groan caught their attention. Chip shifted, starting to wake up. Adam jerked his head and they both slipped out of sight. They didn't go far, wanting to make sure he could get himself up and moving. Chip sat up slowly, putting a hand to his head as he looked around in confusion.

"Nick?" he mumbled, frowning. "Nick!"

He leapt up, stumbling and catching himself against a nearby tree. Holding onto the tree for a moment, Chip grimaced.

"Gotta find Nick," he said, pushing himself off the tree.

Still stumbling a little, he took off determinedly into the forest.

"Well, you gotta give it to him," Adam said. "He's determined."

"Yeah, he is," Rocky agreed. "Now, let's find Tommy before he gets himself in too much trouble."

Chip moved as quickly as he could through the trees, desperate to find Nick. He had to stop him from sacrificing himself. Stumbling again, he grabbed a tree.

"Man," he muttered. "My head kills…"

There was a flash a short distance away and Xander, Madison, and Vida suddenly appeared. Chip breathed a sigh of relief.

"Guys!" he called, waving.

Laughing, they ran to meet him. He tried running, too, but nearly fell again.

"Chip, are you alright?" Vida asked, catching him.

"Yeah," he said. "I hit my head, but I'll be alright. Where's Nick?"

They shook their heads.

"Haven't seen him," Xander answered. "Did we win?"

"No clue," Chip said. "I think I was unconscious, not captured—so, maybe?"

"But then where is Nick?" Madison asked, looking around in concern. "He didn't sacrifice himself, did he?"

"What?" Xander and Vida exclaimed.

"He wouldn't," Vida said.

"Oh yes he would," Chip muttered.

Footsteps caught their attention.

"Hey look!" Chip exclaimed, pointing. "There he is!"

They all laughed and smiled in relief.

"Hey Nick!" Madison called, bumping against Vida.

"Over here!" Vida shouted, laughing.

The two sisters hugged, relieved to see each other and Nick. Hearing their calls, Nick stopped and looked around. Relief lit up his face when he saw them. Grinning, he ran to his friends.

"You're back," he sighed.

They all hugged each other tightly, glad the hunt was over.

"How's your head?" Nick asked, looking at Chip.

"It'll be fine," Chip grinned.

"He's got a hard head," Vida laughed. "Always has."

The others laughed.

"How'd you hit it anyways?" Madison asked.

"Nick hit you with a tree branch or something?" Xander snickered.

Nick froze, his eyes wide.

"I was kidding," Xander said. "We don't really think you'd purposefully hurt any of us."

"Tommy," Nick groaned, looking around. "Where's Tommy?"

The girls frowned.

"Tommy?" Madison repeated. "What about him?"

"He's here to visit for your birthday," Nick said, running a hand over his head. "He's the one who knocked Chip out of the way before Oculus could get him. And he and Phineas are the ones who talked me out of sacrificing myself…But I haven't seen him since I morphed…"

Vida and Madison exchanged concerned glances.

"We have to find him," Vida said. "What if one of the Terrors found him? He could be lying in the woods, hurt."

"Spread out," Nick said. "I doubt he went far if he was worried about the two of you."

Nodding, the rangers spread out to search for Tommy, calling his name as they went.

After Chip took off, Rocky and Adam started combing through the area for Tommy. They were really hoping he hadn't gotten too caught up in the fight. After a few minutes they found him not too far away. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. Tommy was covered in dirt, his clothes stained and torn.

"Tommy!" Adam cried, running toward him.

Rocky was right on his heels. They dropped down next to him.

"Tommy?" Rocky said, grabbing his shoulder.

Tommy's hand shot out and he grabbed Rocky's shirt as his eyes flew open. Seeing who it was, he immediately relaxed his grip. Rocky fell backward, landing on the ground as Adam laughed.

"Sorry," Tommy said, shifting. "You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

Adam and Rocky both frowned, looking at each other.

"Tommy, we didn't sneak up on you," Adam said slowly. "I shouted—didn't you hear me?"

"What?" Tommy frowned, looking at Adam.

"Oh, this is good," Rocky grumbled. "Now he can't hear us."

"Tommy, what happened?" Adam said a little louder.

Still frowning, Tommy rubbed at his ears.

"I think I got a little too close to an explosion," he muttered.

Adam and Rocky both groaned.

"Are you alright?" Rocky asked, trying to make sure to speak loudly enough that Tommy would hear him.

Tommy nodded.

"My ears are ringing," he said. "But I think that'll go away…"

More shouts caught Adam and Rocky's attention as they helped Tommy up.

"Oh boy," Rocky muttered. "They're coming."

"What?" Tommy asked.

"The rangers," Adam said, looking at Tommy. "They're looking for you."

Tommy groaned.

"Go," he snapped. "Get out of here before they see you. I'll meet you back in town after I let them know I'm ok."

Rocky and Adam nodded, darting away through the trees as a few of the rangers came into view. Tommy leaned back against the tree to wait.

"Tommy!" Vida cried. "Guys, I found him!"

Soon all of the rangers came running. Vida and Madison threw their arms around Tommy the moment they reached him. Smiling, he hugged them back.

"You two alright?" he asked, looking down at them.

They both nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Madison asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Tommy said, rubbing his ears again.

All of the rangers exchanged concerned glances.

"Tommy, are you alright?" Vida asked.

He shook his head.

"You're going to need to speak up," he said. "My ears are ringing—I can't understand a word you're saying."

"What?" they exclaimed.

"See, that I heard," he sighed. "I got caught up in Nick's fight. Just a little too close to a few explosions…"

Madison gasped, biting her lip.

"But you're ok?" she asked.

He sighed again, leaning his head back against the tree. They weren't getting the 'speak louder' part.

"Guys, what do we do?" Vida asked, looking at the others. "If Tommy really did get pulled into the fight, he could be seriously hurt."

"And he can't even hear us to ask if he's ok," Chip said.

"We should take him back to Rootcore," Xander said. "Daggeron will know what to do."

The girls immediately started shaking their heads.

"He's not going to go," Madison said. "He hates magic, remember? And even if he's hurt I don't think the five of us can force him…"

"The guy has a strong grip," Nick admitted reluctantly. "Had me in a headlock to keep me from surrendering…"

Vida snickered. Tommy was frowning as he watched them, trying to follow their conversation. But they were talking quietly and too quickly for him to read their lips.

"So then what do we do?" Chip asked. "We can't just leave him here."

"Maybe we can try convincing him," Madison said doubtfully.

Nick scoffed.

"Good luck with that," he said. "But we really should take him back anyways. Remember what I said about the green eyes? If we can get him back to Rootcore we can make sure there aren't any spells on him."

They all nodded in agreement.

"But we still have a problem," Madison pointed out. "How do we get him there?"

"I've got an idea," Xander said, reaching into his pocket. "But you two aren't going to like it—and I don't think Tommy will either."

"Xander, what are you doing?" Vida asked.

He'd just pulled his wand out of his pocket. Instead of answering, he pointed it at Tommy. Vines shot out, wrapping around Tommy who let out a strangled cry of outrage.

"Let me go!" he shouted, struggling against the vines.

"Xander!" the girls exclaimed.

"What are you doing?" Madison cried.

"You said we needed to get him back to Rootcore," Xander said. "Got a better suggestion?"

Mutely, they all shook their heads.

"Let me go!" Tommy shouted again, glaring daggers at them. "Now!"

They all jumped in surprise as his eyes flashed green.

"See!" Nick said. "I told you!"

"Oh, he's going to hate us," Madison cried.

"Let's just get him back, sis," Vida said. "He'll forgive us eventually—I think…"

As Tommy continued to shout at them to let him go, Nick and Xander each took a side. Not wanting to aggravate him further by using more magic, they decided to walk. They weren't far from Rootcore now anyways. Nick and Xander dragged Tommy, still tightly bound by the vines, between them.

"You're all going to regret this if you don't let me go," Tommy growled, still trying to free himself as another flash of green flickered through his eyes.

Xander flicked his wand again and one of the vines shifted to act as a gag.

"Xander!" Vida and Madison exclaimed.

"He's going to draw unwanted attention," Xander said defensively.

Tommy's eyes flashed green again, his gaze focused Xander.

"He didn't like you before," Vida said, shaking her head. "Now he's really going to hate you…"

Xander shrugged.

"Doesn't matter right now," Nick said. "Something is obviously going on with him. We can't risk him being under the Master's control. Unless the two of you are ready to take him out if it comes to that."

Madison and Vida both shook their heads, looking apologetically at Tommy. His return gaze was murderous—Tommy was beyond angry now. When they got into Rootcore, Daggeron came rushing out to meet them, sighing in relief.

"Itassis said you were under attack," he said. "I didn't think I'd—what's going on?"

He'd just noticed Tommy standing bound between Xander and Nick.

"Tommy got caught in the fight," Vida said, glancing back at him. "And we think there's something else going on with him…"

Daggeron shook his head.

"So you tied him up?" he said disapprovingly. "This isn't right."

Striding forward, he pulled the vine out of Tommy's mouth.

"Untie me!" Tommy demanded, struggling to free more than his mouth. "This isn't right! Let me go!"

"Wait!" Chip exclaimed as Daggeron reached down to free Tommy's legs. "We think he's under a spell!"

Daggeron frowned, but freed Tommy's legs anyways, allowing him to stand on his own. But Nick and Xander didn't let go of him. Tommy had stopped demanding his freedom when Daggeron had freed his legs. He was still trying to break free of the rest of the vines, but he also appeared to be concentrating on something else.

"A spell?" Daggeron said, straightening up. "What kind of spell?"

"We don't know," Madison said, shaking her head. "But his eyes have been flashing green—and that's not normal. That's why we had to bring him here…"

Daggeron turned to study Tommy. Panting, Tommy glared back at him.

"Let me go," he growled. "Now. Before I'm no longer responsible for my actions."

His eyes flashed green again, accompanying his threat.

"When we talked to Udonna about this before, she said there were scans she could use to check for a spell," Madison said. "Do you know how to do those?"

Daggeron nodded and reached into his pocket for his wand.

"They aren't complicated," he said. "But it should give us the answers we need."

"No!" Tommy shouted, jerking.

With his legs free, he was able to lash out again. Spinning on one foot, he dropped Xander with a kick to the back of the knee. As he came back around he tripped up Nick as well. Then suddenly there was a flash of light. Tommy froze and crumpled to the ground.

"Tommy!" Vida exclaimed. "What did you do?"

She looked at Daggeron accusingly.

"It's a simple relaxation spell," Daggeron said reassuringly. "It merely relaxes the body so that injuries can be tended to without the patient tensing and possibly aggravating something further. It will last a half hour at the most."

"Udonna said something similar the last time," Madison said, frowning.

"Clare wasn't in control of the spell she cast," Daggeron said. "I was. He'll be fine. And this gives me a chance to scan him without anyone else getting hurt."

He eyed Nick and Xander, both of whom were wincing as they got to their feet.

"Let's get him on the couch," Daggeron said, looking at Chip.

Nodding, Chip helped him lift Tommy up onto the nearby couch. They also removed the rest of the bindings so he could lie there more comfortably. Then Chip stepped back so Daggeron could take the scans. Muttering the spell under his breath, Daggeron held his wand out over Tommy. After a moment, he straightened up and turned to the globed. He pointed his wand at it and a picture appeared.

"What is that?" Chip asked as the rangers gathered around to take a look.

"It's an image of Tommy's life force," Daggeron answered, frowning as he looked at it. "That's odd…"

"What is?" Madison asked fretfully.

"Take a look at the image," Daggeron said.

"What about it?" asked Vida.

The image in the globe didn't have a steady shape. Instead it was more of a series of colors, shifting together around a central point. In the very center of the image was a green sphere. They could see it pulsing, veins of a darker green shooting through and around it and occasionally releasing bursts of color. A bright white made up the next layer of the image, followed by red, and then finally, black.

"What do all of you know about a person's life force?" Daggeron asked instead of answering.

"Not a whole lot," Xander admitted.

Daggeron nodded.

"Then let me explain," he said. "Every person is born with magic inside of them. Some learn to use it, others do not. However, it is tied into their individual life-force. This magic inside of them lends a color to their—soul, if you will. It is a part of who they are as a person. In fact, it even plays a part in your colors as rangers."

The rangers frowned, exchanging glances.

"What does that mean?" Nick asked.

"Each of your cores is focused around a specific color that helps define you," Daggeron answered. "Take you, Nick, as an example. If I were to scan your core, it would appear to our eyes to be red in color."

"Because I'm the red ranger," Nick said.

"No," Daggeron said. "You are the red ranger because your core is red. Remember what I said. Your core helps define who you are."

"So then what does it mean?" Chip asked.

"Red is leadership," said Daggeron. "It means you feel responsible for those around you—and that you like to be in control."

The ranger laughed, looking at Nick.

"That's Nick," Vida grinned.

"So then what is odd about Tommy's?" Madison asked, drawing their attention back to the globe.

"In general, a person's core is made up of one predominant color," Daggeron explained. "You may see small flashes of other colors that influence who they are—based on individual experiences—but look at Tommy's."

They all looked closer again.

"Those aren't small flashes of color," Xander said, shaking his head.

"No, they aren't," Daggeron agreed. "His core is wrapped in bands of color. Green at the center, then white, then red, and finally, black."

"Black?" Vida exclaimed. "That doesn't sound good."

Daggeron shook his head.

"Hold on," he said. "Black isn't always a bad thing. The color itself does not equal darkness."

"So then what is it?" Nick asked, frowning.

Daggeron took a deep breath, sighing.

"Let me explain in ranger terms," he said. "I think that will be easiest for you to follow."

All five of the kids nodded in agreement.

"As I said a moment ago, the color of your core determines your color as a ranger rather than the other way around," he said. "Like Nick, those who wear red as rangers will typically be leaders. They take responsibility for their teams—both in taking care of them and taking the blame when the group as a whole makes a mistake. They also have a tendency to want to be in control of whatever situation they may be in. It can be difficult for them to let that control go."

The rangers laughed again, looking at Nick. He glowered back at them.

"It's not a bad thing," Madison quickly reassured him. "It just fits you so well."

"Then what about their colors?" Nick asked, wanting to focus on someone else now.

"Yeah," Chip grinned. "What does yellow mean?"

"Yellow is—heart," Daggeron said, trying to come up with the best word. "Traditionally yellow rangers tend to be the spirit of the team—the one who is always ready to listen and support. They're the sunshine and cheeriness and oftentimes more open minded than their teammates—"

"Like believing in vampires when the rest of us didn't?" Xander said.

"Exactly," Daggeron nodded.

"That's Chip for you," Vida smiled. "Always looking out for the rest of us."

"You, Vida, are pink," Daggeron said. "You represent the emotions of the team."

Vida looked at him in confusion.

"Umm… ok?" she said. "I didn't think I was that emotional."

"Not in the way you'd think," Daggeron said. "Your emotions tend to lean more to the—aggressive. However, while you can be volatile in those emotions, they also keep you more down to earth. And that also helps you keep the rest of the team grounded."

"So all pink rangers are like Vida?" Nick asked, earning a glare from his teammate.

Daggeron shook his head.

"At the core, yes," he said. "But in the way they express that core, no. Some will lean toward softer emotions, others toward more aggressive, and some will fall in the middle. It depends on the individual."

"I think I'm starting to get this," Chip said.

"Good," Daggeron said. "Because this lesson will help you understand one another better—and make it easier to function as a team."

The rangers nodded, glancing at each other.

"Now," Daggeron said, looking at Madison. "Blue is intellect. They are the planners and thinkers. They also tend to be a little more level-headed, thinking ahead rather than charging recklessly in. There also seems to be a tradition of feeling they have something to prove to the rest of the team."

Madison blushed, ducking her head. Smiling, Vida slung an arm around her shoulders.

"That's my sis," she said. "Always the smart one."

Rolling her eyes, Madison playfully shoved Vida away.

"What about me?" Xander asked eagerly. "What does green stand for?"

"Well," Daggeron said slowly. "Loyalty. Green represents a strong loyalty to the people you care about. They are generally passionate in some form and tend to be more individual—they aren't so focused on being a team player. Not always in a bad way, it just means they're more likely to try and do something themselves before calling the rest of the team."

"Nice," Xander grinned.

"Though you should know that the original green ranger here on earth—in the human realm—was actually evil," Daggeron said.

"That's right!" Xander exclaimed. "I didn't think about that…"

Daggeron nodded.

"While we aren't sure of all of the details—as no one knows the identities of that original team," he said. "If you look at the news reports and such from that time, when the green ranger first appeared he fought against the other rangers."

"I remember that," Madison said. "Everyone was so shocked to see rangers fighting rangers. We had a run in with him when we were little… He tried to kill us…"

"But his loyalty was still there," Chip said slowly. "Right? Just twisted in some way."

"Exactly," Daggeron nodded. "Even those who do evil would embody the traits of their core in some way—no matter what the color."

"Tommy's definitely loyal," Madison smiled. "And he's always been a leader."

"Yeah," Vida snorted. "You should see him and Jason butt heads when they both think they're right."

Exchanging grins, the girls glanced over to Tommy and froze in surprise. He was gone.

"Where is he?" Madison exclaimed.

Everyone whipped around to look. Tommy was gone and none of them had heard him leave.

"I thought you said the spell would last at least a half hour," Xander frowned, glancing at his watch. "It's barely been fifteen minutes."

Daggeron frowned as the younger rangers hopped up to do a quick search of Rootcore. But Tommy was nowhere to be seen.

"Great," Vida muttered as they came back. "Tommy disappeared again."

"I don't get it," Nick frowned. "How can he be down for days with a spell one time, and the next throw it off in minutes? It doesn't make sense."

"I'm not sure," Daggeron said slowly, turning back to the scan. "But I'm hoping this scan may give us more answers."

The others nodded, settling back down for a moment, though they all kept glancing toward the exit.

"So then what about the white and the black?" Nick asked, looking at the globe again.

"Well," Daggeron said. "Black is not, contrary to popular belief, an indication of darkness or evil. Nor is it simply the opposite of white. Black is strength. They tend to be the backbone of the group, working hard and helping where they're needed—but from the background. They don't try and be the leaders, they just want to support the team."

"And white?" Vida asked impatiently.

"Well," Daggeron frowned. "There have only been three white rangers in the history of the human realm."

"Does that include Udonna?" Madison asked.

Daggeron shook his head.

"No," he said. "Though the same traits would apply. Whites tend to be more—diverse. They're harder to fit into a single mold. However, they do have a tendency to be the patient ones, always ready to calm the others down and make them think something through."

"So everyone falls into one of those categories?" Chip asked. "Then what about you?"

"No, Chip," Daggeron said. "The colors are not definitive for everyone. Occasionally someone will come along who does not fall into the same patterns. As rangers they tend to join the team later on, coming in when they need help. They're also generally more individual and not tied as tightly to the team as a unit."

He paused, letting the information sink in.

"So, why is Tommy's core so different?" Madison murmured, her attention firmly back on the scan. "At the center he's loyal—"

"But he's also red—a leader," Vida said.

"And there's the black," Chip added. "For strength and support."

"So I guess that makes the white fit in," Xander said. "He's diverse alright."

Daggeron frowned as he nodded.

"It just doesn't make sense," he muttered.

"What doesn't?" Nick asked, frowning.

"Look closely at the green sphere," Daggeron said. "It's tainted in places. Like—well…"

"Like his loyalty was twisted," Chip said slowly, frowning. "Oh!"

His eyes widened and he whipped around to look at the rest of his team.

"Chip, what's wrong?" Vida asked in concern.

He was on his feet again, looking around rather wildly.

"I—he—I mean…" he stammered, trying to pull his thoughts together.

"Chip!" Nick snapped. "What?"

"Tommy's the green ranger!" he cried.

No one said anything for a moment as they looked at him in surprise.

"Chip, that's crazy," Madison finally said, shaking her head. "Tommy can't—"

She cut off, turning to look at the scan again as she started making the same connections Chip had made.

"Oh…" she said, biting her lip. "But—but how did we miss that?"

The rest of the group was starting to catch on as pieces fell into place. Daggeron was studying the scan intently, but he wasn't arguing with Chip's proclamation.

"I don't know," Chip said. "It's so obvious now. All of his comments, figuring out we were rangers, never being surprised by anything that happens—he's been a ranger himself."

"An evil ranger," Xander corrected. "And now he's out in the forest by himself and there's no telling where he's going."

"I knew there was something wrong with him," Nick muttered. "He's been lying to us all along."

"And you may have a bigger problem," Daggeron said grimly, turning to face them. "If Tommy is indeed the original green ranger, then he is not a threat to be taken lightly."

"But he's Tommy," Madison said. "Isn't he? He's never hurt any of us…"

Daggeron sighed.

"Maddy, you know him better than I do," he said. "But what I can read on this scan tells a different story."

He paused, making sure they were all listening.

"There is a dark magic inside of Tommy," he said. "A magic that is very similar to yours."

The younger rangers exchanged looks.

"What does that mean?" Nick asked.

Daggeron took a deep breath.

"It means," he said, "that you, and all of Briarwood, are all in very grave danger. His magic is strong—stronger than any of yours individually. If Tommy manages to harness it, we would not stand a chance against him. I believe his strength may rival that of Leanbow—and all of you have fought him as Koragg."

"So what do we do?" Vida asked.

"You have to find him," Daggeron answered. "Immediately. I don't know where his magic came from, but we cannot afford to allow our enemies to lay their hands on him. The results would be disastrous."

With grim looks on their faces, the rangers nodded.

"We'll find him," Nick said firmly.

The five started to turn to leave.

"Madison, Vida," Daggeron said.

They paused, turning back to look at him.

"I know he's like a brother to you," he said. "But there is a chance everything you know about him may be a lie. Tommy might not be the man you think he is and you need to be prepared to handle that—no matter what it takes."

They nodded reluctantly.

"We know," Madison said. "Protecting the city comes first."

"We'll stop Tommy," Vida said. "Before he can hurt anyone."

"Good," Daggeron said. "Now hurry. He's already got a head start on you."

The rangers bolted from Rootcore, determined to find Tommy before he could hurt anyone.


	25. Chapter 25

"Where is he?" Adam frowned, glancing at his watch again. "It shouldn't be taking him this long to catch up."

"I don't know," Rocky shrugged. "But you're right—he should have been here ages ago. It never takes Tommy this long to come up with a story so he can slip away…"

Adam sighed, nodding in agreement. The two men had been waiting in the park on the edge of the forest for almost an hour with no sign of Tommy. They'd chosen the park because Tommy was almost guaranteed to come through there on his way back to town—unless he found a really roundabout way.

"Should we try calling him again?" Rocky suggested.

"No," Adam said, shaking his head. "If he was able to he'd have answered or called us back by now. I hope he's alright…"

Rocky nodded, returning to staring at the trees. A few moments later, however, they finally caught sight of a familiar figure stalking out of the trees. Both men leapt up from where they were sitting, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Tommy!" Rocky shouted, waving to get his attention.

His head jerked in their direction, but Tommy didn't paused. Frowning, Adam and Rocky jogged across the park to catch him.

"Hey, man," Rocky said as they caught up. "Where have you been?"

Rocky reached out and put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. He was not expecting Tommy's reaction to his touch. Throwing Rocky's hand off of his shoulder, Tommy spun to face them.

"Don't touch me," he snarled, his eyes flashing green.

Adam and Rocky both took a step backward in surprise. They stared at Tommy in shock. Taking a shaky breath, Tommy ran a hand through his hair as he looked at his friends.

"Sorry," he said shortly. "Just don't—don't touch me right now."

Both Rocky and Adam were on their guard now, watching Tommy warily.

"Tommy," Adam said cautiously, not moving any closer. "What happened? Are the kids alright?"

"They're fine," he snapped. "As long as they stay clear of me for a while."

Rocky and Adam exchanged concerned glances.

"What happened?" Adam repeated. "What did the kids do?"

"They kidnapped me!" Tommy snarled, his eyes flashing green again. "They bound me with magic and dragged me back to their base where their teacher cast another spell on me. That's what happened!"

"What?" Rocky exclaimed. "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know!" Tommy growled. "Ask them—or better yet, ask that idiotic green of theirs why he thought it was alright to tie me up with vines like a prisoner and drag me through the woods. Oh, and gag me when I demanded they let me go."

"Oh boy," Rocky muttered.

Adam was shaking his head in complete surprise.

"Tommy," he said slowly. "Please tell me you didn't—"

"Lose it on them?" Tommy interrupted. "No. I didn't. I left the moment I broke free of the spell. If I hadn't, I can't promise they'd have had a base anymore."

Rocky and Adam both winced, remembering stories the others had told them of the damage Tommy did to the Command Center in high school. Tommy spun, stalking away again.

"Where are you going?" Rocky asked as he and Adam followed.

"I'm going to the hotel to take a shower," Tommy snapped.

Trying to give him some space, the other two men trailed behind Tommy.

"Maybe we should just let him lose on the kids," Rocky muttered. "You know they deserve it."

"We can't do that," Adam said, shaking his head. "It would be completely against the Code."

"Yeah, I know," Rocky grumbled. "But I say if it comes down to us or them, let Tommy beat on the kids. They have powers, after all, so they can handle it."

"I heard that!" Tommy snapped over his shoulder.

Adam and Rocky froze for a moment, but when Tommy kept moving they started walking again.

"Apparently his hearing is back," Adam sighed as they jogged to catch up to him. "Tommy, wait!"

They caught back up to him and Tommy reluctantly stopped.

"We'll come with you," Adam said. "We can all get something to eat on the way back, too."

Tommy shook his head.

"You two go," he said. "Find something to eat. I—I just need the space right now. I'll get something after I shower and then meet you back at the Rock Porium in a couple of hours. I need to have a word with those kids."

Adam and Rocky nodded.

"Call us if you need us," Rocky said. "We won't go far."

"Thanks," Tommy said.

The three men split up—Tommy heading to the hotel and Adam and Rocky heading to find lunch.

* * *

"Any sign of him?" Madison asked as she rushed back in to Rootcore.

Nick, Chip, Vida, and Xander were already back. They all shook their heads in answer.

"Not a thing," Chip said.

"It's like he vanished," Xander said.

All of the rangers exchanged grim looks.

"Well, he has to be here somewhere," Nick said. "Unless he left town. Did either of you try calling him?"

He looked at the girls. They nodded.

"We tried," Vida said. "But he's not answering. He's avoiding us."

"Avoiding us or already captured?" Nick muttered.

It fell silent for a moment as the rangers thought about what that could entail.

"Alright, guys," Nick said, glancing at his watch. "I know we have to find Tommy, but we've gotta get back to the Rockporium. We've already been gone a long time—and Leelee's been there with Toby."

"Yeah, let's go," Vida sighed.

"We'll just have to keep an eye out for Tommy on our way there," Xander said as they headed out the door.

"Maybe he just went back to his hotel," Chip suggested. "Didn't he say he was here for your birthday?"

"Maybe," Madison said doubtfully. "But if he was really running from us he wouldn't make it that easy to find him…"

"We'll find him," Nick said firmly. "But let's start with making sure Leelee didn't do anything to Toby."

Nodding, the rangers all hurried out of Rootcore and back into town. They saw no sign of Tommy along the way. When they walked into the shop, they were shocked to see how clean it was. Leelee stopped to look at them as they stared around. She was a mess. Her hair was all over the place, her make-up was smudged, and her clothes were rumbled and dirty—the complete opposite of the immaculate store.

"So, what do you think?" she asked, looking at them for approval.

"It's a—clean," Nick said hesitantly.

Toby came walking out with the trophy he'd given to Nick just that morning.

"It seems that in your absence Leelee has earned the right to the Rockployee of the Month award," he said, handing the trophy to Leelee as the rangers stared in shock. "Congratulations. I think we can all learn from her commitment to excellence."

Nodding, he turned and walked away, leaving Leelee and the rangers watching each other.

"Looks like I'm here to stay," Leelee smirked.

The rangers exchanged looks, glaring at Leelee. But she just bounced happily away with her trophy.

"Just ignore her, guys," Nick said, shaking his head. "It's not worth it. Besides, we've got bigger problems then Leelee right now."

"Nick is right," Xander agreed as they all gathered around the counter. "We've got to do something about Tommy before he hurts someone—or joins our enemies."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. None of them wanted to think about Tommy fighting against them—especially if he was as powerful as Daggeron thought he was.

"Let's get back to searching," Nick said. "If we split up we can cover more ground."

"But what about Toby?" Chip asked. "If Tommy comes back here he might hurt him…"

Nick frowned, glancing toward Toby's office.

"We can't let anything happen to Toby," he said, turning to look at Madison. "Maddy, can you stay here and watch just in case Tommy comes here?"

She nodded.

"Great," said Nick. "Then the rest of us will split up. Chip and V—head downtown and start searching there. Xander—go back out into the forest. Maybe he never made it back to town. I'll start in the park and head into the residential area. If he's wandering, one of us is bound to find him."

"Got it," the other four rangers chorused.

"And if you do find him, don't confront him," Nick said sternly. "I don't want anyone to get hurt. Just keep an eye on him and call the rest of us. We handle this as a team—no one faces him alone."

With everyone in agreement, the rangers split to look for Tommy. Alone at the Rock Porium now, as Toby had shut himself in his office and Leelee was nowhere to be seen, Madison attempted to focus on work. But she just couldn't keep her focus on it. She kept looking toward the door and jumping at every sound and shadow, afraid it was Tommy.

"Maddy," Toby said from behind her a little while later.

Madison squeaked and jumped, nearly dropping the stack of CDs she was holding as she spun to face him. Toby looked at her in surprise as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Apparently I'm sneakier than I thought," he mused. "Anyways, where did everyone else go? I seem to recall having six employees, not one."

"Oh, umm…" she hesitated. "Uh—Nick, Chip, Xander, and Vida went to get something to eat. I have no idea what Leelee is up to."

Toby sighed.

"Well, at least one of you is here," he said. "I guess that's better than nothing. You aren't going to suddenly run off while I'm standing here, are you?"

She smiled faintly, shaking her head.

"I'm staying for now," she said. "I've got shelves to straighten after all."

"Good," said Toby. "Then I'm going back into my office. If the slackers ever show up, tell them I expect the shop to be spotless."

"I will," she promised as he disappeared.

Soon as the door closed behind him, Madison turned back to the shelf she'd been straightening and put the CDs where they belonged.

"I've gotta stop jumping at shadows," she murmured to herself. "It wasn't him."

"Wasn't who?" a familiar voice asked behind her.

Letting out another squeak of fear, Madison jumped and spun, knocking into the small, free-standing CD rack next to her. It started tipping, but Tommy jerked forward to catch it and kept it from hitting the ground. Madison stared at him with wide eyes.

"Maddy, is everything ok?" Tommy asked in concern as he set the rack upright.

"What?" she stammered. "Oh! Uh… Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong."

Tommy frowned and shifted in place. Madison flinched, her hand going to her pocket, and Tommy froze. She immediately dropped her hand, smoothing it down her pants like she was dusting herself off. But Tommy just sighed.

"It's ok," he said. "You don't need to worry. I know you saw some weird things, but everything can be explained if you give me the chance. Is there a place we can talk? Somewhere more private?"

He glanced around the shop, his gaze lingering on Toby's door for a moment before returning to Madison. She bit her lip, hesitating as she continued to stare at him. She had slipped her hand into her pocket when he wasn't looking as was now holding her morpher behind her back. She desperately wanted to call the rest of her team, but she was afraid to try with Tommy watching her.

"Maddy?" he said, slowly reaching out to her.

She flinched away again and he immediately drew back.

"We can go out to the edge of town," she said quickly. "No one will hear us out there."

He nodded and headed toward the door. But he paused when she didn't immediately follow.

"Are you coming?" he asked.

"Oh, right," she said. "Go ahead. I'll be right out. I just—I—I need to tell Toby I'm leaving."

Tommy nodded, stepping outside. Madison immediately darted away so he wouldn't be able to see her from the front window and opened her communicator.

"Guys, I have a bit of a situation," she said quickly, glancing back over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't coming back inside.

"_What's wrong?" _Nick immediately responded.

"Tommy is here," she said. "He came in without me seeing him and caught me…He said he wants to talk…"

"_You have to get out of there, sis," _Vida exclaimed. _"It's not safe all by yourself."_

"I can't just run," Madison said. "Who knows what he might do to Toby if I take off? I'm leading him away from the Rock Porium. We're heading out toward the edge of town—meet me there."

"_Be careful, Maddy," _Nick said reluctantly. _"We'll be there as quickly as we can."_

"I will be," she said. "But hurry."

Outside, Tommy leaning against a light pole with his arms crossed waiting, but he straightened up as soon as she came out. Madison didn't pause, but started walking quickly in the direction of the designated spot. Tommy followed, jogging to catch up to her. But as he fell into step next to her, Madison flinched away again and put a couple of feet between them. Tommy sighed. He had been afraid of this.

"Maddy, you don't have to be afraid of me," he said quietly as they walked. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I know I probably scared you back there, but I was upset and you guys had crossed a line."

"I—I'm not scared," she said, though she didn't look at him as she said it. "It's nothing. Let's just get to where we can talk."

She started walking a little faster, still being very careful to keep some distance between them. And she wasn't meeting his eye, either, though she appeared to be trying to keep him in eyesight. Tommy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he kept up with her. He had never wanted to scare any of them like this, let alone have them find out this way. They weren't supposed to find out about him being the original green ranger until he could sit down and tell them the whole story. And, from her reactions, he knew they had to have figured it out. This was killing him and he had to make it right.

"Maddy," he tried again as they approached the edge of town. "Please give me a chance to explain. There's a lot going on you don't understand."

She just looked at him nervously as they drew to a stop near the trees. There was no one else around. Madison turned to face him, shifting in place as she stared without saying anything.

"Please," Tommy said again. "Maddy, I can explain everything if you give me a chance."

She still didn't say anything. Tommy took a deep breath.

"Look," he said. "I know it looks bad, but a lot of things happened that I couldn't control. It wasn't the best situation, so I did the best I could. It turned out alright in the end. And I think if you guys just give me a chance to explain everything that happened you'll see it in a new light. Please, just trust me for a little while—give me the benefit of the doubt."

Madison opened her mouth to respond, and then hesitated again.

"Maddy, please," Tommy begged, reaching out to put a hand on her arm.

She gasped in fear and jumped backward. Tommy started to pull away again, but he was suddenly knocked to his knees as something slammed into his shoulder. He gasped as searing pain shot through him, leaving a burning on his shoulder. Reacting on instinct, he forced himself back to his feet and spun to defend Madison from what he assumed was a monster attack. He froze in shock to see the other four Mystic Force rangers running toward him, wands out and pointed in his direction. It had been Nick, leading the charge, who was responsible for the spell that had hit Tommy. From the burning in his shoulder, Tommy assumed it was some kind of fire.

"Maddy!" Vida cried, seeing Tommy spin toward them as if to attack.

Without hesitation, she sent her own spell flying. A blast of wind struck Tommy, knocking him backward and slamming him into a nearby tree. He grunted as he hit, sinking to the ground and falling forward onto his hands and knees. Looking up at them in shock, he used the tree to get himself back to his feet. Madison was looking back and forth in shock as the rest of her team reached them, taking defensive positions as they faced off against Tommy.

"Guys, don't do this," he pleaded, grimacing in pain as he moved. "You don't understand wh—"

"We understand enough!" Nick growled. "You aren't going to touch my team, green ranger!"

Tommy flinched at the confirmation that they knew. Catching Xander moving out of the corner of his eyes, Tommy dove out of the way just in time to avoid being bound by vines again. He hit the ground and rolled, coming to his feet again in a defensive position. As he came to his feet, his eyes flashed green—in his panic he was struggling to control the green ranger magic—and, before he could stop it, a large branch flew off the ground and slammed into Xander's chest, knocking the young green ranger off of his feet. Everyone froze in shock.

"No!" Tommy immediately cried. "I didn't mean—"

But he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before he was under attack. Nick and Vida immediately leapt forward in Xander's defense, raining blows down on Tommy as he tried to defend himself, blocking rather than hitting back. Madison ran to Xander, helping him to his feet, while Chip hesitated—he didn't want anyone to get hurt in this. As soon as he was back on his feet, Xander leapt into the fight. With his injured shoulder, Tommy was struggling to defend himself against the three rangers who were attacking physically now instead of just using magic.

"Guys, we can still save him!" Chip exclaimed. "Just stop him, don't hurt him!"

"Please!" Madison added, still torn between what Tommy had been saying and everything she was seeing.

But their teammates weren't listening. Nick, Xander, and Vida were too focused on taking Tommy down. Tommy, however, was fighting only to defend himself—he didn't want to hurt anyone. Taking a kick from Nick, Tommy stumbled backward and nearly fell. He caught himself and reached to push Nick away. Chip, misjudging Tommy's actions and thinking he was going to hit Nick with some kind of spell, reacted with a blinding flash of light right in Tommy's face. Momentarily blinded, Tommy hit Nick a lot harder than he had intended. His strike caught Nick in the chest and the young red ranger dropped, gasping for air after having the wind knocked out of him. Seeing Nick fall, Madison cried out and reacted.

"Stop!" she cried.

She whipped her wand around, a rope-like stream of water spinning out of it toward Tommy. The water rope caught him around the neck, jerking him backward and slamming him into a tree. He was pinned there by the rope, struggling to break free as it choked him—he couldn't breathe. For a moment, none of the Mystic Force rangers moved as they stared at Tommy in shock. Then Madison gasped as she realized what she was doing, losing control of the spell. The water rope dissipated and Tommy fell to his knees, gasping for air.

"Oh—I—I…" Madison stammered as she stared at Tommy on the ground.

He looked up at her, shock and hurt clearly visible on his face. Then he was on his feet and bolting into the forest. Nick, Xander, Vida, and Chip immediately took off after him. Madison hesitated only for a moment before following. They chased Tommy through the forest, shooting spells after him as they tried to stop his escaped. Plants came alive under Xander's command, trying to trip Tommy and pull him to the ground; small fireballs streaked through the air toward the escaping ranger from the tip of Nick's wand, a few of them striking glancing blows; and strong gusts of wind blasted at him from behind as Vida tried to knock him off his feet again. Madison and Chip followed their teammates, wands out but not using them. Tommy was running hard, dodging from side to side and leaping off of rocks and trees as he did everything he could to avoid their attacks.

"We have to stop him!" Nick shouted. "Don't let him get away!"

Up ahead, Tommy was fumbling with his communicator as he ran, trying to get it to function. But all of the magic in the area was causing it to malfunction.

"Under attack!" he shouted into the communicator, hoping the Dino Thunder team would at least get part of the message. "They know—they know everything. Stay away, it's not safe!"

Not sure how much of the message had gotten though, Tommy kept running. He was slowly pulling ahead of Mystic Force, but he needed more distance. A short ways back, the five rangers were panting as they tried to keep up with him. And then suddenly he was gone. They ran up to the spot where they had last seen him, but there were no signs of Tommy.

"Where did he go?" Xander panted, leaning over with his hands on his knees. "He was just here. It's like he vanished."

"I don't know," Vida gasped, trying to catch her breath. "But he's always been good in the woods. The guy goes for a three hour run in the woods around his house every day… I don't think we stood a chance catching him out here."

Madison was staring off in the direction they had last seen him heading. She was still clutching her wand, her arms hanging down at her sides. Nick walked over to her.

"Maddy, are you alright?" he asked, putting a hand on her arm.

She jumped a little, turning to look at him. The look on her face said she was near tears.

"I can't believe I did that," she said, shaking her head. "I—I escalated the fight…I shouldn't have done that!"

"It's ok," Nick said. "You did what you had to do."

Vida had moved to put an arm around her sister. Madison was shaking, so Vida took her wand before she dropped it.

"It's not ok!" Madison cried. "I almost killed him. That's not what we're supposed to do!"

She buried her face in her hands, bursting into tears. Vida put both her wand and her sister's in her own pockets, hugging Madison tightly.

"He brought it on himself," she said soothingly. "You were only trying to protect Nick."

"V's right," Xander agreed. "It might not have been what you meant to do, but it stopped him from hurting Nick…"

"I don't care," Madison said. "I shouldn't have done it. We aren't supposed to kill—that's going too far."

She leaned against her sister, still shaking.

"Guys, we should go," Chip said, glancing around. "If he's still here and wants to attack us, we're not going to see it coming. Let's get out of here and back to Rootcore."

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Nick agreed. "We'll regroup and go from there."

Glancing around one more time, the rangers headed off through the trees toward Rootcore.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Going Camping**_

_Hearing a knock on the door, Tommy quickly zipped up his bag and ran to answer it. He opened the door to see his mother waiting with Mrs. Rocca. Madison, Vida, Chip, and Xander were bouncing impatiently behind them. _

"_Mom?" Tommy said in surprise, not having expected to see her._

"_Tommy!" she beamed, reaching out to hug him. "How are you—you cut your hair!"_

"_What?" he said. "Oh…"_

_He nervously reached up to run a hand through his newly-cut short hair. _

"_Yeah," he muttered. "Thought it was time for a change, and so did Jase and Hayley, so I cut it. It doesn't look bad, does it?"_

"_No, of course not!" Mrs. Oliver said, shaking her head. "You look so handsome!"_

_Tommy blushed. Mrs. Oliver ignored that and reached up to fuss with his hair._

"_Mom!" Tommy exclaimed, trying to push her hand away. "What are you even doing here?"_

"_Are you saying I'm not allowed to come visit you?" she huffed, putting her hands on her hips._

_Tommy groaned, shaking his head._

"_I didn't say that," he protested. "I just meant—why don't you all come in?"_

_He stepped back to let everyone inside, shutting the door once they were all in. _

"_Jase! They're here!" he called toward the bedroom. "You guys got all your stuff?"_

_He looked at the kids with the question. All of them held up a bag in response. The four kids were there to go on a camping trip with Jason and Tommy for the weekend while their parents did some more repairs on the houses in Angel Grove. It had only been a couple of weeks since the Space Rangers' big battle had ended and things were still far from normal. So Tommy and Jason were helping get the kids out of the way for a little while. It was also a chance for Tommy to really get out of the apartment for the first time since the intervention. _

"_Hey," Jason grinned, walking out of his room with a bag slung over his shoulder. "Everyone ready for camping?"_

"_Yes!" the kids chorused, bouncing in place. _

_Laughing, Tommy turned to head back to his own room to make sure he had everything. _

"_And you packed everything you'll need, right?" Jason asked, tossing his bag over by the door. "Because I am not bringing you back for something."_

"_They should have," Mrs. Rocca said, looking at the kids. "We checked their bags before we left. And all of you brought your bags in, correct?"_

_All of the kids held up their bags again in answer. But Vida's bag slipped in her hand, nearly falling to the floor. Frowning, she looked at it in confusion._

"_Aww…" she grumbled. "That's great…"_

_The strap she'd been holding it by had just snapped, leaving her with just one on the bag. Mrs. Rocca sighed._

"_I told you that you needed a new backpack," she said, shaking her head._

"_Alright, I'll get a new backpack," Vida muttered. "But what am I supposed to do now? I don't want to carry it with a broken strap…"_

"_If you come home with me, you're staying there," Mrs. Rocca answered. "So I suggest you make that bag work."_

"_But—" Vida started to protest. _

"_Hold on a second, V," Jason interrupted. "I think Tommy has an extra duffel bag in the closet."_

_With Vida trailing behind him, Jason walked over to the closet and opened the doors. He shifted around a few things as he tried to get a look behind the scanner—which they were still storing in the closet. Finding the bag he'd been looking for, he straightened up and turned around, holding up a small duffel bag._

"_Here you go," he said. "I don't know if there's anything in there, but Tommy won't care if you use it. Just dump it out and get your stuff switched over."_

"_Thanks, big brother," Vida grinned, taking the bag from him._

_Plopping down on the floor with it, Vida upended the bag and started to shake. Jason rolled his eyes and went to start moving all of their equipment to one pile over by the door so they could load the car. As Vida shook the bag, several things dropped onto the floor. There was an empty water bottle, a single sock, and an old granola bar. Giving it one last shake just to make sure, she dislodged a pill bottle that hit the floor with a clatter. _

"_What is that?" Mrs. Oliver asked, frowning as she reached down to pick it up._

_Jason turned around to see what she was talking about. _

"_What is what?" he asked. _

_Mrs. Oliver didn't answer right away as she took a closer look at the bottle. Suddenly she gasped in outrage and spun to look at Jason. She held it out toward Jason, her eyes narrowed. He just stared at it in confusion. _

"_What?" he repeated as Mrs. Rocca took a look at the bottle. _

_After looking at the label, Mrs. Rocca turned to glare at Jason, too. _

"_Do you know what this is?" she asked._

"_Aspirin?" Jason said, still confused. _

_Both mothers glared daggers at him._

"_It is not aspirin!" Mrs. Oliver cried. _

"_Jason Scott," Mrs. Rocca scolded. "You told us you searched this apartment thoroughly."_

"_I did!" Jason protested, realizing now what Mrs. Oliver must be holding. _

_And he had searched the apartment thoroughly—just not for medication. Jason and several of the other rangers had searched the entire apartment for anything else that might affect Tommy's magic in the same way the morphers did. _

"_Obviously not well enough," Mrs. Rocca frowned. _

_But Mrs. Oliver had turned her attention to her own son._

"_Tommy!" she shouted. "Get out here now!"_

_Tommy came bolting out of his room in a panic, thinking something was wrong._

"_What's wrong?" he asked, looking around for the source of the problem._

_But all he could see were the four kids grouped by Vida as she kept repacking, Jason being scolded by his mother for some unknown reason, and his own mother glaring at him with her hands on her hips._

"_What is this?" Mrs. Oliver demanded. "It was in your bag."_

_Tommy frowned in confusion at the small bottle._

"_Aspirin?" he said slowly, not sure what the problem was._

"_This is not aspirin, Thomas," his mother snapped. "As I'm sure you know very well. Now what was this doing in the closet in that duffel bag?"_

_Glancing over at the bag Vida was packing, Tommy groaned as he suddenly realized what it was his mother had found. It also explained the lecture Jason was getting about responsibility. The bottle in Mrs. Oliver's hand was what was left of the pain medication from his accident a year ago. He had never finished the prescription or even refilled the bottle after leaving the hospital. Tommy had been in the hospital several weeks after the accident, but once he was out and away from the constant attention of doctors he had started carrying a couple of old morphers to speed up the healing process and help with the pain. So, after a week or so, he'd been able to stop taking the medication and had forgotten about it completely. _

"_That was the bag I took to physical therapy after I got out of the hospital," Tommy said quickly. "I probably left the medication in there months ago after one of my appointments."_

"_So you're trying to tell me you aren't hiding this?" she exclaimed._

"_I'm not," Tommy retorted. "I had no idea it was still in there."_

"_Mmm hmm…" she said, pursing her lips as she crossed her arms._

_Jason had finally managed to scoot away from his mother, who was now listening to Mrs. Oliver. _

"_It's true!" he exclaimed. "Mom, I barely remember anything after Christmas. Even the past couple of months since Jase and the—since Jase came to stay are fuzzy in places."_

"_But this was hidden where you had easy access to it," she snapped. "This is a problem, Thomas."_

"_Mrs. Oliver, he's telling the truth," Jason interrupted. "And he hasn't touched it. Look at the bottle."_

"_Jase is right," Tommy quickly agreed. "You can see the bottle is still at least half-full. If I had known it was there do you think there would be pills in it?"_

_Both mothers eyed their sons suspiciously. Tommy and Jason were both just hoping they'd take what Tommy had said and let it go._

"_Alright," Mrs. Oliver consented after a moment. "But I'm still flushing these and then we're searching the rest of the apartment."_

"_Mom!" Tommy protested._

_But she wasn't listening anymore. Mrs. Oliver stalked over to the bathroom and disappeared inside. A moment later they heard the toilet flush. Tommy and Jason exchanged frustrated looks. The cover plan Hayley had come up with had backfired on them._

"_You don't have to search the apartment," Jason insisted as Mrs. Oliver walked back out. "Everything is completely under control. I promise."_

"_Everything is not under control," Mrs. Rocca snapped. "You were supposed to be responsible about this, Jason. That's why we all agreed to let you stay with Tommy instead of moving him home. Missing something that important is not responsible. Who knows what else you've missed? Or what could have happened to Tommy because you weren't paying attention?"_

_The four kids, all grouped by the closet now, were quietly watching the lecture Jason and Tommy were receiving now that Vida had shifted her stuff into new bag. _

"_Sorry, mom," Jason muttered, ducking his head. _

"_Both of you stay right where you are," Mrs. Oliver instructed, looking at the two young men. "I don't want either of you to move an inch."_

_Both of them sighed, but nodded. The mothers turned to start searching the living room, going through everything they could open, look under, or look inside. Once they were distracted, Tommy turned to Jason._

"_Don't feel bad, Jase," he said quietly. "You're the reason I'm even still here. Our moms don't get that…"_

"_Yeah, I know," Jason muttered. _

"_Tommy, what is this?" Mrs. Oliver asked._

_Both boys flinched as they turned to see what she was holding this time. Mrs. Oliver was holding up the lockbox, which Jason had stashed under the couch. She was trying to open it._

"_It's my lockbox," Tommy said._

"_Well, unlock it," she demanded, holding it out._

_Jason and Tommy exchanged looks. All of Tommy's morphers were in there. So there was no way they were opening that. _

"_Umm… I can't," Tommy said, shaking his head._

"_Why not?" she asked, frowning._

"_Because Justin changed the com," he said. "And I don't know what it is."_

"_What?" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed._

_Tommy shrugged._

"_He was messing with it when he was here over Christmas break," Tommy explained. "He changed the combination, but forgot to tell me what it was before he left. Haven't been able to figure it out. Probably the answer to some complicated math equation that I'll never be able to figure out anyways."_

_His mother narrowed her eyes at him. Jason, the only one in the apartment who actually did know the combination, was trying not to look suspicious._

"_Well, why don't you call him?" she asked, looking at Tommy._

"_Because he's out for the weekend with his dad and doesn't have a cell phone yet," Tommy answered quickly. "I promise there's nothing bad in there."_

"_Then what is in here?" Mrs. Oliver demanded. _

_Tommy hesitated for a moment._

"_Umm… Just the few little things I have from the orphanage," he said, shrugging. "I put them in there because I didn't want anything happening to them."_

_Mrs. Oliver softened, smiling at her son. _

"_Oh, alright," she sighed. "I suppose if you can't get into it then we'll leave it alone for now."_

_She set it down on the table as she turned to continue searching the living room. Once they were done searching there, the boys were ordered to sit on the couch while they continued on to the rest of the apartment. They even involved the kids in the search to make it go a little faster. While their mothers and the four kids were occupied, Tommy and Jason slouched on the couch in irritation._

"_There's nothing else we need to worry about them finding, is there?" Jason muttered to Tommy._

_Tommy shrugged._

"_I only had the one bottle of pills," he answered. "And everything rang—well, you know what I'm talking about. All of that stuff is in the lockbox."_

_Xander had wandered past, pretending to search the apartment still. _

"_What about you?" Tommy continued once Xander was gone. "Where's your morpher?"_

"_In my pocket," Jason said. "I wasn't about to leave it laying around for one of the kids to find."_

"_Well, then I guess we just wait," Tommy sighed._

_Jason nodded. For a moment, both of them lounged on the couch and listened to the sounds of the search. Then they heard the closet door open behind them._

"_What's that thing?" they heard Madison asked._

_Both of them bolted upright, looking at each other._

"_The scanner!" they hissed together._

"_How do we explain that?" Jason said as Mrs. Oliver came hurrying out of Tommy's room._

"_It's Hayley's," Tommy muttered back. "And that's all they need to know."_

_And Mrs. Oliver did interrogate them about the scanner. _

"_Mom, it's Hayley's project," Tommy sighed. "She doesn't have room in her apartment, so we keep it here. We have no idea how to work the thing. It's in the closet because we were tired of tripping over it."_

_With no choice but to be satisfied with that answer, Mrs. Oliver went back to searching Tommy's room. When they were done searching the apartment, Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Rocca released Tommy and Jason from their spots on the couch. _

"_We didn't find anything," Mrs. Oliver said._

"_But you had better be more watchful, Jason," Mrs. Rocca added. "Or you're both going to be coming home."_

"_Got it, mom," Jason muttered. _

"_Jason, when are we leaving?" Vida asked impatiently, grabbing his arm and hanging on it. "I'm bored."_

"_We'll leave as soon as mom leaves," Jason said. "And after we load the cars."_

"_Alright, alright," Mrs. Rocca sighed. "We're leaving. The four of you behave yourselves for Tommy and Jason."_

"_We will," the kids chorused, grinning._

_As Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Rocca were saying goodbye, the door opened. Tommy and Jason both whipped around in surprise. It was Hayley. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder and a sleeping bag under her arm. Tommy immediately relaxed and went back to what he was doing, but Jason frowned._

"_Hayley?" he said. "What are you doing here?"_

"_Going camping," she said. "Unless you've canceled the trip?"_

"_You're going?" Mrs. Oliver said in surprise._

_Hayley smiled, nodding._

"_That's wonderful!" she beamed. "I'm sure the girls will love having you there. It'll be so much better having you there as their chaperone instead of just the boys."_

"_And you can keep the boys in line," Mrs. Rocca added. "Do you know what we just found in that closet with your project?"_

_Hayley frowned, glancing at Tommy and Jason in confusion. They both shrugged, so she started playing along._

"_Umm…I'm afraid not," she said._

"_A bottle of Tommy's pills," Mrs. Oliver said. "Tommy claims he didn't know they were there, but you should keep an eye on him anyways."_

_Behind her, Tommy rolled his eyes. Hayley smirked, nodding._

"_Oh, don't worry," she said. "I won't let either of them get away with anything."_

_Both mothers smiled. Finishing goodbyes, they left to let the group finish getting ready._

"_Since when are you coming camping?" Jason asked, rounding on Hayley the moment the door shut behind the mothers._

_She raised an eyebrow._

"_Since the day you started planning the trip," she said. "Didn't Tommy tell you?"_

_Jason turned to look at Tommy in surprise._

"_Whoops," Tommy said sheepishly, running a hand through this hair. "Guess I forgot to tell you that part, bro. Sorry…"_

"_Relax, Jason," she said. "I won't be in the way. Besides, it'll be better having a girl on the trip to sleep in a tent with your sisters."_

"_Fine," he muttered. "Let's go…"_

_Under Jason and Tommy's direction, everyone started to grab something to carry down to the cars._

"_Wait a minute," Jason said. "You four—bathroom. We are not stopping on the way there."_

"_Jason," Vida protested._

"_Uh uh," he said, shaking his head. "I know you, V. And Maddy. Bathroom."_

_Grumbling, all four kids took a turn in the bathroom. Satisfied that they weren't going to have to make any extra stops, everyone grabbed their designated items and they headed down to the cars. They unlocked Jason's car and then he realized he didn't have the keys for Tommy's._

"_Aww…" he muttered. "I didn't get them out…"_

_Tommy snorted. _

"_Great job, Rex," he said. "Way to be on top of things. I don't suppose you grabbed my wallet either?"_

"_It's all locked up still," Jason growled. _

_Hayley rolled her eyes, reaching into her pocket._

"_Here's your wallet, Tommy," she said. "But we don't need your keys. I'm driving."_

_Jason looked at her in surprise._

"_How did you get that?" he asked._

"_How do you think?" Hayley smirked. "You aren't the only one with access."_

_Jason glowered at her, but didn't argue._

"_Everyone in," he said. "Who is riding where?"_

"_Tommy is riding with me," Hayley said, earning another glare from Jason._

"_I want to ride with Tommy!" Madison immediately exclaimed._

_Vida echoed her sister. So Madison and Vida ended up in the backseat of Hayley's car while Tommy rode in the front passenger seat. Jason took Chip and Xander with him. When they got to the campground, the first thing they did was unload the cars and double check to make sure they had everything they thought was necessary for the night. Each of the kids was carrying their own backpack and their sleeping bag. Tommy and Jason loaded up with their gear and most of the rest of the equipment. Hayley grabbed the first aid kit along with her own things and a third tent._

"_Everyone have everything?" Jason asked, looking around._

_With a chorus of affirmatives, he took the lead and headed off into the forest. He'd scouted out the site a few days before. It was a bit of a walk, but far enough from the road that they'd all be able to enjoy some peace and quiet and be able to relax and have fun. The four kids were excited as they started walking, bouncing ahead and looking around at everything. Jason let them go, so long as they stayed where he, Tommy, or Hayley could see them. None of them wanted to spend the afternoon searching for someone lost in the woods._

"_There's a river!" Chip exclaimed a little while later. "Are we camping by the river?"_

"_Not quite," Jason chuckled, shaking his head. "Across the river and far enough away that no one is going to stumble into it in the middle of the night."_

"_But how do we get across?" Madison asked doubtfully, eying the river._

_There was a short ravine leading down to the small river. The sides sloped fairly gently, however, making it an easier descent. Several logs and rocks had been strategically placed by previous campers in the area to make crossing easier as well._

"_Right there," Jason said, nodding toward the makeshift bridge. "Just watch your step and you'll be fine. I tested it out and the whole thing is firmly in place."_

_Still looking at it nervously, Madison nodded. _

"_Why don't you go first, Jase?" Tommy suggested. "Show them the best places to step. We'll send the kids after you and then Hayley and I will follow behind."_

"_Fine with me," Jason agreed._

_Leading the way down the slope, Jason carefully made his way across. Once the kids saw him crossing, they relaxed a little more. Vida was the first to follow her brother, followed closely by Chip and Xander. Madison moved a little more hesitantly, still nervous about crossing the water. She was only about halfway across when something splashed in the water, startling her. She jumped and lost her footing, slipping into the water and getting tangled in her backpack and sleeping bag. _

"_Maddy!" Jason cried._

_But the other kids were still climbing onto shore on the other side, making it difficult for him to run to her. Tommy had already started moving though. Dropping all of his gear on shore, he bolted out onto the bridge after Madison. He half dove into the water after her, bracing himself against the makeshift bridge as he reached to pull her out of the water. Madison clung to him as he pulled her up and back onto the bridge. They sat on the log for a moment, both of them catching their breath._

"_Maddy, are you alright?" Jason exclaimed, reaching them._

_She nodded mutely, shaking. She was soaked from head to toe, having gone all the way under the water at one point. Reaching out his hands, Jason scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way across while Tommy tried to salvage a few of her things. She was still wearing her backpack, but had dropped her sleeping bag. Part of the bag had ripped open on a rock as well and some of her stuff had fallen out into the river. Tommy saved what he could without actually getting all the way in. Tossing her things on the far side by Jason and the kids, he headed back to get his own gear._

"_Are you ok?" Hayley asked, helping him pick his stuff up._

"_Yeah, I'm fine," Tommy said. "But that was a little close. Not a good way to start the weekend…"_

_She sighed, nodding in agreement. They joined Jason and the kids on the other side of the river. Madison had calmed down a little, though she was still shaking. She was also bleeding in a couple of places where she'd scraped against the rocks. _

"_Thanks, Falcon," Jason said, putting a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "I'm glad your reflexes haven't changed."_

"_So am I," Tommy agreed. "Too bad I couldn't move just a little faster…"_

_Jason gave him a look, but Tommy just shrugged, turning to Madison. She was getting her stuff back together as best she could to carry the rest of the way. Madison stood back up as Tommy walked over. _

"_You gonna be ok, Maddy?" Tommy asked, putting an arm around her shoulders._

"_I'll be fine," she said quietly. "Thanks, Tommy…"_

"_Always," he smiled. "Now let's get to the campsite. Good thing you and Vida are the same size. You can wear something of hers until we dry your stuff out. And we'll break out the first aid kit to take care of some of those scrapes."_

_She nodded. _

"_Come on, sis," Vida said, putting an arm around Madison from the other side. "Let's get out of here."_

_The group started heading up the slope._

"_So what is she going to sleep in tonight?" Hayley asked. "There's no way her sleeping bag is going to dry fast enough—even if we could hang it over a fire."_

"_There's an extra sleeping bag and some blankets in the back of Jason's car," Tommy said. "We weren't counting on needing them this fast…But I'll run back to get them as soon as we get the tents up."_

_Hayley sighed, nodding. They reached the site Jason had picked out without further incidents. Everyone dropped their stuff together as they looked around. Despite the warm day, Madison was shivering a little in the shade of the forest. Not wanting her to get sick, Jason dug in his bag and pulled out a sweatshirt._

"_Here you go, kiddo," he said, handing it to her. "It'll be a little—well, a lot big, but it should keep you warm until we have somewhere for you to change."_

_She took the sweatshirt gratefully, pulling it on over her wet clothes. And it was huge on her small frame._

"_I think you could fit two of me in here," she giggled, trying to get the sleeves to stay up so she could use her hands._

"_We can try," Vida grinned._

_Jason rolled his eyes. _

"_Later, you two," he said, though he still smiled. "Let's get the tents up."_

_Pulling the three tents out of the pile, Jason tossed one to Xander and Chip, one to Hayley, and kept the third._

"_Everyone know how to set up their tent?" he asked. "Chip? Xander?"_

"_Duh," Xander answered. "It's the girls who are gonna need help, not us."_

_Vida turned to frown at him._

"_What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, glaring._

"_You're a girl," Xander said, rolling his eyes. "Girls aren't good at this kind of stuff."_

"_Oh, is that so?" Vida retorted. "So you think you can set up your tent faster than us?"_

"_Faster and better," Xander smirked._

"_Not a chance," Vida snapped._

"_Alright, enough," Jason intervened. "Let's not fight right now. Maddy and V, Hayley will help you with your tent and if any of you need any help, just ask Tommy or I."_

_Hayley crossed his arms._

"_What about me?" she asked._

"_What about you?" Jason said, looking at her._

"_I know how to set up a tent the same as you," she retorted. _

"_Hayley, no offense," Jason said, shaking his head. "But I'm pretty sure Tommy and I have gone camping a lot more than you have. We'll have our tent up and ready to help before yours is completely done."_

_Her eyes narrowed. Behind Jason, Tommy was shaking his head. He knew Hayley didn't like being challenged—or the assumption that she couldn't do something as well because of her gender._

"_You want to make a bet on that?" she asked Jason._

"_On who gets their tent up first?" Jason said. "That wouldn't be fair."_

"_Then humor me," she said. "First one to get their tent up wins—you versus us."_

_She indicated Madison and Vida with herself._

"_And, to make it a little more interesting," she smirked. "Loser has to go get all of the firewood for the night."_

_Jason scoffed._

"_Easy bet," he said. "You're on."_

_Tommy sighed, running a hand through his hair. He didn't see this ending well. Madison and Vida were smiling eagerly, ready to try and beat their big brother in something. Chip and Xander, determined to be the first ones done, had already started pulling out their tents._

"_Ready?" Hayley asked, looking at Jason._

"_Let's go," he said. _

_Jason, Hayley, and the girls were quickly absorbed in putting up their tents. Shaking his head, Tommy turned to make the trek back to the cars for the other sleeping bag, grabbing Jason's keys from where they were hooked on his bag. He figured he may as well make the trip now while everyone else was dealing with the tents. That way they could get right down to enjoying themselves when he got back. A little while later, Jason stepped back from his tent with a grin. It was all set up and in record time. Turning around to tell Hayley he was done, he stopped in surprise. She was lounging on the ground in front of the girls' completed tent and his sisters were nowhere in sight. But from the laughing he heard, he guessed they were inside._

"_But—how?" he sputtered._

_Hayley snorted, smirking at him._

"_First of all, I have been camping before," she said. "Second, your sisters are really good at following instructions when they have the chance to beat you. With the three of us working together we were finished in no time."_

_Jason glared at her._

"_Oh, good, the tents are up," Tommy said, walking back into the campsite. "Well, two of three anyways…"_

_Turning to follow Tommy's gaze, Jason had to laugh. Xander and Chip were struggling with their tent. Pieces were scattered everywhere and what was standing looked like it was about to fall over._

"_Well, apparently they need help," Jason said, starting to head over._

"_Not so fast, Jason," Hayley said. "Aren't you forgetting something?"_

"_What now?" he sighed._

"_You have to go get the firewood," she smirked. "And the sooner the better—especially if you want to eat anytime soon. Like before it gets completely dark out."_

_It was getting later in the afternoon and it would start getting dark out soon. _

"_Fine," he muttered. "Tommy, let's go. We'll help the boys when we get back."_

"_Wait a minute," Tommy protested. "I was not part of this bet."_

"_He's right, Jason," Hayley said. "Tommy doesn't have to get firewood—just you."_

"_But you said—" Jason started to argue._

"_I said it was you versus us," Hayley reminded him. "Just you. Not you and Tommy. He wasn't even here to help because he went to get Maddy a dry sleeping bag."_

"_Fine," Jason growled. "Tommy, help the boys with their tent."_

_Hayley laughed as Jason stalked off into the trees to get firewood. Tommy eyed the boys' tent reluctantly, shooting a glare at Xander while he wasn't looking. But after a moment he sighed and walked over to help._

"_Alright, guys," he said. "Let's start from the beginning, because that is a tarp, not part of the tent…"_

_Taking the whole thing apart, Tommy started showing them step by step how to put the tent together. By the time Jason came back with a load of firewood, Tommy was handing over the mallet to Chip to pound the stakes into the ground. _

"_Just be careful of your—never mind," Tommy grimaced as Chip yelped in pain._

_He had just hammered his thumb instead of the stake. Sighing, Tommy took the mallet back and shooed Chip away. Hayley motioned him over to take a look at his thumb. She had already taken care of Madison's scrapes once she had changed into dry clothes._

"_Well, looks like you guys are having fun," Jason said, dropping the firewood next to where they were going to set up the fire._

"_Oh sure," Tommy muttered, straightening up. "Loads."_

"_Chip, you're supposed to hit the stake, not yourself," Vida snickered, watching Hayley checking Chip's hand. _

"_Shut up, V," he snapped._

_But she just laughed harder. Xander and Madison were snickering, too. The moment Hayley released Chip, he jumped up and went after Vida. Still laughing, she darted away. Chip chased her around for a moment and then she climbed up into a tree, heading for higher branches as quickly as she could with Chip following. Madison and Xander were cheering on the chase. Jason, Tommy, and Hayley, on the other hand, started working on dinner. They let the kids do as they wanted until Madison suddenly came running over._

"_Jason!" she exclaimed, tugging on his shirt. "Chip needs help."_

"_What?" Jason said, frowning as he turned around._

_He followed his sister as she pulled him over to the tree Vida and Chip had climbed. Looking up into the tree, Jason groaned. Chip was frozen in place, looking down with a look of complete terror on his face._

"_He's afraid of heights, isn't he?" Jason sighed._

"_Yep," Madison answered. "And he looked down."_

"_Alright…" Jason said. "Chip? Can you start backing down to me? I'll stay right under you the whole time."_

_Chip shook his head adamantly, still clinging to his branch. Vida was up higher than him, looking down as she waited for a clear path out of the tree. With Chip refusing to come down, Jason hoisted himself up and started climbing after him. Tommy and Hayley were watching now, too. Reaching Chip, it took Jason several minutes to coax the boy into transferring his grip from the tree to Jason._

"_Not so tight!" Jason choked, reaching up to loosen Chip's arms around his neck. "If you strangle me we both fall."_

_He had gotten Chip on his back and was maneuvering to climb back down the tree. Chip loosened his grip around Jason's neck just slightly, but still held on tightly. Vida followed them down, making sure not to get too close so she didn't kick or step on Jason. Dropping down the last couple of feet, Jason backed away from the tree with Chip still clinging to his back._

"_There you go, kid," he said. "No more trees, alright?"_

"_Ok…" Chip mumbled, starting to climb down._

_Vida, almost to the ground, swung off the branch she was on and jumped to the ground on the other side of the tree from Jason. She landed on her feet, but stumbled and rolled through the underbrush right under the tree. Laughing, she stood up and started brushing herself off._

"_V, don't move," Tommy said suddenly, stepping forward._

_She froze, her eyes wide._

"_There's something on me, isn't there?" she asked._

"_Just hold still for a second," Tommy said, crouching down to look at the plants she had landed in. "Oh boy…"_

"_What?" she cried._

"_V, that's poison oak," Tommy sighed as he straightened up. "And you just rolled right through it…"_

_Vida grimaced, looking down at herself. She was wearing shorts and a tank top, which meant she'd gotten the poison oak all over herself._

"_Come on out," Tommy said, motioning to her. "Just don't touch anyone or anything. Hayley, can you take her down to the river to wash?"_

"_Of course," Hayley said. "Vida, wait right there. I'm going to get you a change of clothes and the lotion. You're going to want that soon…"_

"_Great," Tommy nodded. "I'll get the shovel."_

"_Shovel?" Jason said, raising an eyebrow. "What are you planning to do with a shovel?"_

"_I'm gonna dig up the poison oak and bury it," Tommy said, turning to head back to the cars again. "To make sure no one else walks through it in the middle of the night."_

"_Good idea," Jason said. "Guess I'll stay with these three."_

_A little while later, Tommy came hiking back with the shovel over his shoulder to take care of the poison oak. Jason was finishing up getting everything ready for roasting hot dogs and Hayley was already back with Vida, coating some of the spots that were already starting to itch with calamine lotion. Before sitting down with everyone else, Tommy dug up the poison oak and buried it so no one else would get in it. He also double checked the perimeter of their campsite to make sure there weren't any other patches. Finding one more, he took care of that too, being careful not to touch any of the plants himself. _

"_That should do it for now," he sighed, joining everyone else around the campfire. "How are you, V?"_

"_Itchy…" she mumbled, sitting on her hands. "I don't like poison oak…"_

"_No one does," Jason chuckled. "Next time you'll look before you leap."_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah," she grumbled. _

_Tommy smiled, shaking his head. Turning away from the fire, he ducked into his tent to change. _

* * *

"_Alright," Jason said a while later, looking around. "Everyone full?"_

_A chorus of yes's went around the campfire._

"_Then everyone put your dishes in the bins," he directed, standing up. _

_The kids started piling plates and everything else in the bins. Hayley started rearranging so the dishes weren't underneath the heavy cast iron pans. Once everything was collected, Jason reached down to pick up one of the two bins._

"_Tommy, can you grab the other one?" he asked. "We need to wash these tonight. Tommy?"_

_Jason frowned, turning around. But Tommy was nowhere in sight._

"_Where's Tommy?" Jason asked._

_Hayley raised an eyebrow. _

"_In your tent," she said. _

"_When did he go in there?" Jason said in surprise._

"_Jason, he never came back out after he went to change," Hayley said, shaking her head. "He fell asleep."_

"_What?" he exclaimed. "But—"_

"_Did you really not notice he wasn't out here for dinner?" she asked._

_Jason glared at her as the kids snickered. _

"_I was a little preoccupied," he said shortly. "Keeping those four away from the fire and making sure no one poked an eye out with them waving roasting sticks around in the air like maniacs."_

_Hayley rolled her eyes._

"_Well, he's sleeping and you aren't waking him up," she said._

"_I need his help," Jason said. "I can't carry both tubs by myself."_

"_Too bad," she retorted._

"_Hayley," Jason sighed._

"_Jason, he hasn't left his apartment in nearly three months," she snapped, crossing her arms. "He's still recovering after months of not taking care of himself. With all the running around he did this afternoon—including hiking back to the car twice—he's tired. Let him sleep."_

_Jason sighed, but didn't argue._

"_Fine," he said. "Xander, grab that other tub and follow me."_

_Xander opened his mouth to protest, but a glare from Jason silenced him. Grumbling, he grabbed the other tub and followed Jason away to the river. A few minutes later he came hurrying back alone. Hayley had pulled out s'mores supplies and started the girls and Chip on making some for everyone._

"_Where's Jason?" Hayley frowned, glancing up at him as he walked up._

"_Still washing dishes," Xander shrugged. "I was bored so I came back."_

"_You know you're going to have to go help him carry stuff back, right?" Madison said, looking at him as she roasted another marshmallow._

"_Why do I have to do it?" he grumbled. "Those things are heavy…"_

_Sighing, he plopped into the closest chair._

"_Don't sit—" Vida started to exclaim. _

_But it was too late because he'd already sat down, looking at her in confusion. Then his eyes flew open wide and he leapt up with a shout of pain. He had just sat down on a plate of fresh-made s'mores the other three kids had been making for everyone. Now the hot, sticky, melted mess was stuck on his pants._

"_Smooth, Xander," Vida snorted as he jumped around shouting. "Now you have s'mores on your butt."_

_He didn't answer, still screaming that it was burning as he tried to get the sticky mess off. Hayley was on her feet, trying to get him to stand still. Then Tommy's tent flap flew open and he came stumbling out, looking for the source of the screaming. But he tripped over a bag that had been left to close to the tent entrance and stumbled forward, cracking his head on the nearby tree._

"_Agh!" he cried, doubling over as he put a hand to his head._

_Jason, having heard the screaming from where he was washing dishes, came running into the campsite._

"_What is going on?" Jason exclaimed, looking around._

"_Xander sat on the s'mores," Chip informed him. "And burnt his butt."_

_Jason took a deep breath as the kids snickered. Hayley had managed to get Xander to stop jumping around, but he was still standing there. _

"_Xander, go change your pants," Jason snapped. "Tommy, are you alright?"_

_Tommy was leaning on the tree now, still holding his head. He'd scraped his forehead up and it was bleeding now. Hayley sighed and walked over to take a look as Xander disappeared into his tent. _

"_No," Tommy grimaced, gingerly touching his forehead. "Oh, that's great—I'm bleeding…Hayley, did you pack aspirin?"_

_She was trying to take a look at his head, but he just pushed her hands away. _

"_Yes, but you can't have any until morning," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "You might have a concussion."_

"_I do not have a concussion," he said._

_Hayley rolled her eyes. _

"_And how would you know?" she said. "You are not a doctor."_

"_Because I've had them before," he grumbled. "Plenty of times. Hazard of being a—of learning new karate moves…"_

_He'd barely caught himself before saying something about the power rangers. _

"_When did you have a concussion, Tommy?" Madison asked. "We don't remember that."_

_Vida nodded in agreement. Tommy sighed, glancing over at Jason._

"_High school," he answered. "But it was a few years ago."_

"_The last one we remember having a concussion was Rocky," Vida frowned. _

_Tommy shrugged._

"_It wasn't bad enough to worry anyone," he said. "So no one really said anything. Hayley, aspirin?"_

"_You're still waiting until morning," she said firmly, crossing her arms._

"_Fine," Tommy muttered. "Jase, good luck with the kids. I'm going back to bed…"_

_Jason glared at him, but Tommy just spun and ducked back into the tent. Hayley sighed and grabbed the first aid kit to go after him. Pausing outside the tent, she dug in it for a moment and then held out a small tube to Jason. _

"_What's that for?" he asked suspiciously. _

_She smirked, dropping it in his hand. _

"_It's burn cream," she said. "You get to go check on Xander." _

"_But why do I have to?" he immediately protested._

"_Because you're the only one who can," she said. "It wouldn't be appropriate for me to check on him, your sisters certainly aren't doing it, Tommy needs first aid, too, and somehow I think Chip would just make it worse. So that leaves you."_

_The kids snickered as Jason sputtered in protest. Even Chip couldn't help but laugh as he tried to act insulted by Hayley's implication. _

"_Fine," Jason muttered. "But no one bother unpacking. We're going home in the morning."_

"_But big brother!" Vida protested. _

"_No arguing," Jason said as he spun to stalk away. _

_Hayley frowned as she watched him go._

"_Jason, why are you limping?" she asked. _

_He sighed, pausing. _

"_Because when the kid started screaming I dropped the cast iron pot I was washing," he growled. "Right on my foot. Pretty sure I broke it."_

_Hayley raised an eyebrow._

"_Then why are you still walking on it?" she asked._

"_I don't have a choice," he snapped. "Gotta check on the kid and then go get the dishes. Unless you'd like to take over?"_

"_Just go take care of Xander," she retorted, shaking her head. "I'll get the dishes."_

_Nodding curtly, Jason continued limping toward the boys' tent._

"_So, does this mean we can't have any more s'mores?" Vida asked mournfully._

"_If you want one, make it quick," Hayley said. "And then it's time for bed."_

"_Thanks, Hayley!" the three kids chorused with wmiles._

_As they scrambled to make themselves a s'more, Hayley ducked into Tommy's tent with the first aid kit._

* * *

"_I got the door!" Vida shouted, racing to answer the knock. _

_She opened the door to see Mrs. Rocca and Mrs. Oliver waiting. _

"_Hi, mom! Hi, Mrs. Oliver!" Vida beamed. "Come in."_

_The two mothers stepped inside, looking at Vida in surprise. She was covered in pink lotion. But the sight of the apartment momentarily distracted them. All of the furniture in the apartment had been shoved against the walls out of the way and a tent had been set up in the middle of the room. There were also several sleeping bags on the ground around it. _

"_Mom!" Madison exclaimed, running over to hug her. "You're—achoo!"_

_She sneezed, tripping and barely keeping herself from falling down. Mrs. Rocca frowned as she looked at her daughters. Xander and Chip popped out of the tent, the former holding a small pillow in his hands. Jason, Hayley, and Tommy were relaxing in camping chairs they had set up in a circle and Jason had his foot propped up on a small stool._

"_Tommy, why is there a tent in your apartment?" Mrs. Oliver asked, a little confused. _

"_And why is Vida pink?" added, looking expectantly at Jason. _

"_Long story," Jason grumbled. "But I'm never taking them camping again…"_

_The mothers exchanged confused looks. _

"_We camped here," Vida said, grinning. "And I don't like the pink, but it stops the itching a little."_

"_Itching?" Mrs. Rocca said, raising an eyebrow. _

"_And I have a cold," Madison inserted, sniffling a little. "I've been sneezing all—achoo!—all weekend…"_

"_That's cause you fell in the river," Chip snickered._

"_Well, at least I didn't get stuck in a tree," Madison countered, frowning. _

"_Well, I didn't sit on the s'mores," Chip protested. _

"_Hey! It was an accident!" Xander exclaimed. _

"_Ok, ok," Hayley sighed, standing up to intervene. "As you can tell, we ran into a few—problems at the campground. So we decided to bring the kids back here to finish the weekend."_

_Tommy stood up to join the conversation. _

"_It worked out well enough," he said. "They still had fun."_

"_What happened to your head?" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed, reaching and gently touching his bandaged forehead._

"_I ran into a tree…" he muttered, flinching at the touch. _

_His mother sighed, shaking her head. _

"_How?" she asked. "And what exactly happened out there?"_

_He hesitated for a moment, shooting a glare in Xander's direction as he tried to decide how to explain. _

"_Let me explain," Hayley said. "I'll start at the beginning. We got to the campground just fine…"_

_By the time Hayley was done explaining everything that had gone wrong that night out at the campground, the two mothers were looking at the group in shock. _

"_What did they say at the hospital?" Mrs. Rocca finally asked, looking at Jason. _

_He frowned._

"_Nothing," he said. "We haven't gone anywhere since we got back here."_

"_You mean you haven't had that foot checked?" his mother exclaimed. _

"_No, it's fine," Jason said, shrugging. "Just need to rest it."_

_Mrs. Rocca took a deep breath._

"_That's it," she said. "All of you get your things together and out to the car. Jason, you're coming, too."_

"_Wait, what?" he exclaimed, sitting upright. "Why?"_

"_Because your foot is probably broken and you need x-rays," she said. "Now move."_

_Groaning, Jason carefully stood up and started moving to get his shoes while his sisters and the boys started running around grabbing their stuff. Mrs. Rocca sighed and made Jason sit back down while she got his shoes for him. _

"_Tommy, get your shoes on, too," Mrs. Oliver said._

"_Mom, I don't need to go to the E.R.," Tommy protested. "I don't have a concussion. Just ask Hayley."_

"_Come on, Falcon," Jason sighed. "No point in arguing, remember?"_

"_But I don't have a concussion this time!" Tommy said. _

_Mrs. Oliver frowned, studying Tommy closely. After a moment she sighed, relenting._

"_Alright," she said. "You don't have to go. I can tell just by looking that you're fine…"_

_He grinned in relief as Jason sputtered in protest._

"_Thanks, mom," Tommy said. _

"_That is so not fair," Jason grumbled. _

"_Come on, big brother," Vida said, bouncing toward the door with her bag. "Might as well get it over with."_

_He groaned, standing up again and carefully heading toward the door. Mrs. Rocca hovered worriedly next to him._

"_How come I'm always with the two of you when I have to go to the E.R.?" he muttered. "It's always the two of you."_

_His sisters exchanged looks, shrugging._

"_We don't know," they said. _

_Still grumbling, Jason headed out of the apartment followed closely by his mother. The kids went out after them with a chorus of goodbyes. _

"_Have the two of you eaten dinner yet?" Mrs. Oliver asked, looking at Tommy and Hayley._

_They shook their heads and soon they were sitting down to eat with Mrs. Oliver while they waited for the others to bring Jason back from the E.R._


	27. Chapter 27

"Where is everyone?" Rocky muttered, glancing up and down the street. "Someone has got to be around."

He and Adam were standing a short ways down the street from the Rock Porium. They'd stopped by once already, but neither Tommy nor any of the kids had shown up. So they had gone back to the hotel to see if Tommy was still there. The room had been empty, though they did find his ruined shirt in the trash can. So, assuming they'd missed him, the two men had headed back to the Rock Porium. But there was still no sign of anyone and he wasn't answering his phone.

"I'll try calling Tommy again," Adam said, pulling out his phone. "He probably turned the ringer off again…Oh. Hayley's calling. I guess he doesn't have it after all."

His phone had just started ringing.

"Wait!" Rocky said. "There are the kids!"

He pointed down the street. Adam looked where he was pointing and saw the five Mystic Force rangers hurrying back into the Rock Porium.

"Well, that's a start," he sighed, ignoring Hayley's call for the moment. "But I don't see Tommy."

He didn't want to talk to her until they had a better guess of where Tommy had gone, so he turned it on silent. Rocky did the same and they both put them away.

"Maybe they know where he is," Rocky said as they started to head down the street.

Adam nodded. Reaching the shop, the two men walked in after the team. Inside, the young rangers were gathered around the counter having a quiet discussion. There weren't any customers in the store and Toby and Leelee were nowhere to be seen. But as Adam and Rocky walked in, the rangers turned.

"Adam? Rocky?" Vida said in surprise.

They smiled, walking over to join the kids.

"Hey girls," Adam said. "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere."

All of the rangers hesitated, glancing at each other.

"Umm… Around," Madison said. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came with Tommy," Rocky said, shrugging. "To visit for your birthday."

The kids flinched at the mention of Tommy, exchanging looks again. Adam and Rocky frowned.

"Everything ok?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Chip said quickly. "You guys haven't seen Tommy recently, have you?"

Adam raised an eyebrow, glancing over to Rocky. They both shook their heads.

"We haven't seen him in hours," Adam said. "We were hoping you guys had seen him…"

"Yeah," Rocky said. "Last time we saw him he was heading to the hotel to get cleaned up—apparently he managed to get himself too close to a ranger fight again."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"He's got the worst luck," he said. "Always ends up in trouble."

Adam nodded in agreement, though he was watching the kids. He wasn't sure what had possessed them to drag Tommy to their base, but something was definitely going on. None of them were meeting their eyes and all five looked extremely nervous.

"So, have you seen him?" Adam asked expectantly, still watching closely.

They definitely flinched again.

"Uh, not in a while," Xander said. "We umm… we lost him."

Nick rolled his eyes.

"You two should stay away from him anyways," he scoffed, crossing his arms.

"What?" Rocky said in surprise.

"Nick's right," Vida agreed. "Tommy isn't who you think he is."

Rocky and Adam frowned, looking at each other.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked, confused.

Tommy hadn't said anything about the girls wanting to avoid him. Sure, he'd lost it a little, but he hadn't gone that far.

"We just—we just think you need to stay away from him," Madison said quietly. "Please?"

"I'm not sure I understand," Adam said slowly. "Why would we need to stay away from Tommy?"

"Because he's dangerous," Nick snapped. "So steer clear. We gotta go."

He jerked his head toward the door, stalking around Adam and Rocky. The other four started to follow. Madison paused in the doorway, hesitantly looking at the two confused men.

"I—I'm sorry," she said quickly before darting out the door.

Once they were gone, Adam and Rocky looked at each other.

"Ok, even I got that something weird is going on," Rocky said. "We've gotta find Tommy."

"Let's go," Adam agreed.

The two men left the shop and started making their way through the city, methodically searching anywhere Tommy might be and splitting up to cover more ground. But a couple hours later, there was still no sign of their friend. Tommy was nowhere to be found.

"Now I'm really worried," Adam sighed as the two regrouped by the park. "I know he disappears sometimes, but he's not even answering his communicator. And it's rare that he doesn't answer that."

Rocky nodded grimly.

"You don't think one of the monsters got a hold of him and the kids couldn't tell us, do you?" he asked.

"No," Adam said, shaking his head. "There's no way they would have just been sitting at the Rock Porium—no matter what happened at their base. I really don't think they know where he is."

It was Rocky's turn to sigh now.

"Then what do we do now?" he asked. "I'm out of ideas…"

"We call Hayley," Adam said reluctantly, reaching into his pocket. "Because if anyone is going to be able to track him down, it's her."

Pulling out his phone, he unlocked it and stared in surprise. He had seventeen missed calls. And they were all from Hayley.

"Umm… Rocky?" he said slowly. "Check your phone. Did Hayley call you?"

Rocky frowned, but pulled his out.

"Yep," he said in surprise. "Nine times. I've got a couple of voicemails, too."

"And I've got seventeen calls and nine voicemails," Adam said, scrolling through them. "I'm kind of afraid to hear what they say…"

Rocky nodded in agreement.

"But why do I only have nine?" he asked. "That kind of hurts…"

Adam snorted.

"Just be thankful you don't have to listen to all of those voicemails," he said. "Not that I'm going to bother with mine right now—I'm just going to call her back."

Hitting the callback button, Adam put the phone to his ear. Hayley answered nearly immediately.

"_Where have you been?" _she snapped. _"Now where is he? Is he alright?"_

Adam frowned.

"Tommy?" he said. "Hayley, we haven't seen him in hours. That's why I'm calling. We were hoping you could track him down with his communicator."

"_What?" _she cried. _"What do you mean?"_

Adam took a deep breath.

"Tommy had some argument with the kids earlier," he said. "We didn't get all the details, but apparently he got a little too close to one of their fights and then they made him go back to their base against his will—their green ranger tied him up with something. We caught up with him after he slipped away from them, but he wasn't happy and wanted to go clean up. And we haven't seen him since."

"_Some chaperones you two are!" _she snapped.

"He went to take a shower!" Adam protested. "We figured he could handle that on his own. He was supposed to meet us back at the Rock Porium after. The two of us went to get something to eat."

"_Then what happened?" _Hayley demanded. _"Why did he send out an SOS call?"_

"What SOS call?" Adam exclaimed in shock, looking at Rocky. "We didn't get anything."

"_It was with his Dino communicator—and I didn't get the whole thing," _she said, clearly frustrated. _"All I got was something about an attack and someone knowing. And he hasn't answered anything since then."_

Adam glanced at Rocky again, his face grim.

"Hayley, we've looked all over town and haven't been able to find him," he said. "Do you have any idea where else he might be?"

"_If I knew where he was I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you two!" _she snapped. _"All I know is it has to be around a strong concentration of magic because that's the only thing that could be messing with my system like this."_

"Then we'll start in the woods," Adam said. "The kids said they haven't seen him, but that's the only place I can think of where magic would be that strong."

"_Hurry," _Hayley pleaded.

"We'll find him," Adam said. "If you hear anything, let us know. We're not going to stop searching until we find him."

Saying a hurried goodbye, Adam hung up and put his phone away after making sure it was back on ring.

"Let's go," he said when Rocky started to ask what was going on. "I'll explain on the way, but I'm pretty sure Tommy's in trouble."

The two men took off toward the woods, looking for any sign of Tommy as Adam brought Rocky up to speed.

Hanging up with Adam, Hayley took a shaky breath as she continued to pace around the lab. Ever since she heard the SOS call come over the communicator she'd been in a state of panic. Tommy would never send out a call like that without a solid reason. And it was scaring her that she couldn't find any sign of him.

"Jason—I have to tell Jason," she muttered, rubbing a hand over her face. "He needs to know."

Continuing to pace, she dialed Jason's number as she glanced at her computer screen again. It was continuously running the ranger emergency tracking program as it tried to lock on to Tommy. But she'd had no luck at all in the last few hours.

"_Hey, Hayley," _Jason answered after a few rings. _"What's going on? It's almost midnight."_

She took a deep breath.

"Jason, Tommy's missing," she said without hesitation. "He was in Briarwood and he sent out an SOS and now he's gone."

"_Wait—back up. I don't like those words." _Jason said. _"Are you serious?"_

"No, I'm not," she snapped. "I just wanted to see how fast I could get you to react. Yes I'm serious!"

"_Ok, ok," _Jason exclaimed. _"What happened?"_

"I don't know!" she cried. "He was visiting your sisters and apparently he went back to the hotel to clean up after some kind of incident and never came back. Then he sent out an SOS call—something about an attack—and there's been nothing since. Rocky and Adam can't find him anywhere."

"_What attack?" _Jason asked. _"Hayley, I'm going to need more details than that."_

"I don't know anything else," she snapped. "All I know is what I told you. The message was almost all static and I barely got anything—just the words under attack and they know. There's nothing else."

"_Alright," _he said. _"Alright. We'll find him. Where does his communicator say he is?"_

"Jason, what part of missing do you not understand?" she shouted. "If I could tell you where he was someone would have already found him. I can't get a lock on anything!"

"_Ok, I'm sorry," _he said quickly. _"Do you have any ideas at all?"_

"Nothing," she said frantically. "I have nothing. Rocky and Adam are still looking, but they aren't finding anything. Jason, you need to get over here—now."

"_I'm on my way," _he said. _"But it's going to be a few hours. I have to—aww… I've got to take Mark somewhere. Trini can't handle him while they're both sick."_

"Just hurry," she begged.

"_I'll be there as soon as I can," _he promised. _"I'm going to get Mark ready and take him to my parents' house. Rose is already at Trini's parents' house, so I don't have to worry about that. Trini will be fine by herself. Do you have anyone else with you?"_

"No, I don't," she cried. "I called the kids—and they got Tommy's SOS, too—but they're all hours away at school. Trent was in the Bahamas with his dad, so he's on a plane. You're the closest one right now."

It was all she could do not to start crying right now. She felt so helpless with no way to help.

"_I'm coming," _Jason said. _"Just hold tight and call me if anything changes."_

"Please hurry," she said again.

Hanging up, she clutched the phone tightly for a moment as she went to the computer again. There was still no signal. Taking a shaky breath, she went to sit down at the computer and try another series of tracking sequences. She had to find him.

"Tommy, where are you?" she muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Madison sighed, pulling her legs up on the chair. "This is a disaster…"

The rangers were back at Rootcore. After leaving Adam and Rocky at the Rock Porium, they'd returned to the forest to talk and think in private. But so far they had been unable to come up with any new ideas.

"We'll just have to watch for him," Nick said. "There's nothing else we can do until we figure out where he is."

"I'm just hoping we find him before Rocky and Adam do," Vida muttered, shaking her head. "If he hurts them…"

"I'm still having trouble believing Tommy is evil…" Chip said slowly. "I mean, he's never shown any signs before."

"He attacked Maddy," Nick said shortly. "Without provocation."

"And I think he was trying to convince me to take his side," Madison said quietly. "He kept saying something about how I didn't understand and if I just listened I might change my mind…"

Reluctantly, now that she had calmed down a little, she had started coming around and agreeing with the rest of her team. But she was still shaken up by the whole thing.

"I think this has been going on a lot longer than we think," Xander said suddenly.

He'd been quiet since they got back to Rootcore, but no one had said anything. They were all a little distracted right now. The other four turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Vida frowned.

"He's just been biding his time," he said. "Think about it. He's been watching us all along, waiting for an opportunity to try and turn us. Tommy has been evil since high school and now he finally has the chance to use us for his purpose. I'll be he's even been passing information to our enemies from the beginning."

Vida snorted.

"Oh, yes," she said sarcastically. "He's been watching us since he was in high school because somehow he knew we were going to be power rangers since we were six—that makes so much sense."

Xander paused, frowning.

"Ok, so maybe I didn't think the whole thing through," he muttered.

"But you may not be completely wrong," Daggeron said, joining them. "Tommy could have been, or still be, passing information to our enemies. You need to be careful, rangers."

He had been studying the scan since they left, but had gotten nothing further from it.

"I'm still not sure," Chip said. "I mean, if he was really trying to get information from us then why did he bolt out of here the minute he got the chance? If he wanted to spy wouldn't it make more sense to try and convince us to let him stay here and look around?"

Daggeron shook his head.

"Not necessarily," he said. "There is a chance he has been passing information since his first visit."

"How much did you two tell him?" Nick asked, looking at the girls.

"Nothing important," Vida said defensively. "We only talked about stuff that had already happened. I don't see what he could have gotten from that."

Nick didn't press the issue. They were all on edge and he really didn't want to fight with his teammates right now.

"I think we could still save him, though," Chip pressed, determined not to give up so quickly. "We should at least try."

Madison quickly nodded, glancing at Chip.

"Chip is right," she said. "We should at least try. He is Jason's best friend, so he can't be all bad…"

Daggeron sighed.

"There's always a chance," he said slowly. "But don't get your hopes up too high. Sometimes you just can't change who a person has become."

"Yeah, I know…" she mumbled. "I just—I—I hate this…And what are we going to tell Jason?"

Vida grimaced. She hadn't thought about that yet.

"I don't know," she sighed, leaning against her sister's shoulder. "I don't know…"

"I already told you, TJ," Justin said impatiently, leaning over his keyboard for a closer look at the computer screen. "Hayley is still repairing her network after the whole lab fiasco two years ago—her network doesn't reach as far as it used to. That's why I need your satellites. So keep moving—slowly—and give me a chance to try and catch a signal. He has to be there somewhere."

Hayley had called Justin about an hour before to tell him what was going on and ask for his help. Hearing the panic in her voice, he had immediately jumped on board. She never panicked if it wasn't completely serious and beyond her control. Realizing he'd need more satellite access than he could get quickly—or at least legally—he'd called TJ. Fortunately, TJ and the rest of the Space Rangers had been on earth and able to help, which meant he didn't have to use illegal means to gain access to the satellites he needed. They were now making slow passes over Briarwood and the surrounding areas allowing Justin to use their systems to try and catch the GPS signal in Tommy's communicator.

"Come on…" Justin muttered, shifting his phone so he wouldn't drop it.

It was currently pinned between his shoulder and ear so his hands were free to fly over the keyboard.

"Where'd you go, Tommy?" he frowned. "I know you have a knack for disappearing, but this is a little extreme. There has to be a—oh!"

He leaned closer to the computer, something on the map catching his eye.

"Slow down, TJ," he snapped. "I think I—I found him! Stop there. Stop there!"

"_I'm trying!" _TJ retorted. _"It's a big ship. It doesn't stop on a dime."_

"Just don't move unless I say so," Justin said, practically leaping out of his chair. "He's still moving a little and I don't want to lose him."

"_We're stopping," _TJ reassured him. _"Just go get him."_

"I'm going," said Justin.

And he was. Shoes already on, he grabbed his computer in one hand and his keys in the other, keeping his phone pinned to his shoulder as he bolted for the door.

"I've gotta get to him quick," he continued. "Before I lose him again."

"_Just don't get a speeding ticket, kid," _TJ said. _"That's the last thing you need right now—getting pulled over."_

Justin snorted.

"I'm not getting pulled over," he said. "I have a radar system in my car. Plus, I really don't think they're going to be catching the car I'm taking."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"_Justin, you own a Sunfire…" _TJ said slowly. _"You're not outrunning anyone in that thing."_

"Not the car I'm taking," Justin said distractedly, maneuvering himself very carefully out the door. "I'm taking the one Tommy helped me with a few years ago. He doesn't get out very often, so he should be rarin' to go."

"_Justin," _TJ said. _"What car are you talking about?"_

"Well, he's more of a jeep, actually," Justin corrected, kicking his door shut behind him.

TJ groaned.

"_You didn't," _he said. _"There's no way. You aren't saying what I think you are."_

"What?" Justin said. "You guys have a ship now. I've gotta have something down here all by myself. Besides, I'm pretty sure Tommy's got Lightning hidden up at his cabin. I haven't been able to prove it yet, but he's pretty hesitant about anyone snooping around up there."

TJ sighed. Justin had made it out to the garage, juggling things to get the door open. He walked inside and hit the light switch with his elbow. The blue jeep parked inside beeped in greeting, the headlights flashing briefly.

"Hey, Blaster," Justin said, hurrying over. "We've got a mission. Tommy's in trouble."

"_Justin, I don't think—" _TJ started to say.

"Sorry, TJ," Justin interrupted as the door opened for him. "Gotta go. Need to focus on Tommy. Don't move on threat of Hayley. And trust me, you don't want to mess with her right now. The space ship won't save you from her if you make me lose Tommy again."

He hung up before TJ could protest, climbing in and shutting the door. Setting his computer in the passenger seat, he dropped his phone next to it and put the key in the ignition. Ignoring the seat belt Tommy had insisted on installing, Justin opened the garage door and peeled out at top speed.

"Hang on, Tommy," he muttered, glancing over at his computer to check his direction. "I'm on the way."

_Gotta keep moving… Can't stop… Need the distance…_

Tommy stumbled but pushed himself to keep moving. He didn't know how long it had been since he ran from the rangers, but it felt like forever. For a long time he had kept running, but eventually he had started to run out of energy. Using his ninjetti abilities to put distance between himself and Mystic Force had drained a lot of energy quickly. Now it was all he could do to force himself to keep walking—taking one step after another.

_Still not safe… Keep moving… _

The ground suddenly changed beneath his feet, shifting from dirt to pavement and causing him to stumble again. After countless hours of stumbling through woods and fields, he'd found a road. Without even really being aware of the decision, he started following the road.

_Need to get home… Home is safe… Keep moving…_

He'd been stumbling along the road for a while without any signs of cars when he was suddenly blinded by a bright light. Throwing up his uninjured arm in front of his face, he kept going as the lights drew closer accompanied by the familiar roar of a car engine.

_Can't stop… Keep going…_

The car pulled off a short ways ahead and he faintly heard a car door open.

"Tommy!" he heard someone shout.

Racing down the road, following the map on his computer screen, Justin was relieved to finally see a familiar figure stumbling down the road ahead of him. Pulling to a stop just ahead of Tommy, Justin quickly opened the door and leapt out of the car. Tommy hadn't stopped walking toward him.

"Tommy!" he shouted, running toward him. "Tommy, are you alright?"

Tommy didn't react to Justin's shout. He just kept stumbling forward, his right arm up to shield his eyes. Justin ran up to him, reaching out a hand.

"Tommy," he said again.

He put a hand on Tommy's arm, but immediately had to jump out of the way. Tommy jerked and nearly hit Justin in an instinctive reaction.

"Whoa, hold on," Justin said, backing off a little. "Tommy, it's me. It's Justin. You're safe now. I came to take you home."

Tommy took a few more hesitant steps forward as he stared at Justin and then he finally stopped. But he still didn't say a word.

"Oh, this is good," Justin muttered grimly. "Tommy?"

He reached out hesitantly again. Tommy didn't try and hit him this time, but he flinched and put his arms up in defense. But almost instantly he grimaced in pain and brought his left arm back down, cradling it against himself. Seeing Tommy's reaction to moving the arm, Justin took a deep breath. He'd been afraid of something like that—he'd been hoping his guess about Tommy being hurt would be wrong.

"Come on, Tommy," Justin said, trying to coax him now. "Come get in the car. Blaster and I will do the driving—all you have to do is come along for the ride and you'll be home before you know it."

Tommy still didn't budge.

"Definitely in shock," Justin sighed. "Don't know what happened, but someone really did a number…"

He continued to coax Tommy, trying not to touch him as he finally got him moving toward the car. Darting ahead to open the door and move his computer, it didn't take much longer to get the injured ranger in the car. Deciding he was better off just getting Tommy back to Reefside, Justin didn't check injuries other than to make sure he wasn't bleeding. As soon as Tommy sat down in the passenger seat, he curled defensively into himself. Leaning forward with his head down, he kept his left arm cradled against his chest and his right arm up with his head resting in his hand.

"Let's go, Blaster," Justin said as he climbed back into the driver's seat. "We gotta get him home."

Taking off as fast as he dared with the injured Tommy in the seat next to him, Justin grabbed his phone and dialed Hayley. He'd been waiting until he actually had Tommy to call her, but now he didn't want to put it off any longer. She answered after the first ring.

"_Justin? Any sign of him?" _she asked desperately. _"Please tell me you found a signal."_

"I've got him, Hayley," Justin said. "He's in the car and we're on our way."

"_Oh, thank the Power," _Hayley gasped in relief. _"Is he alright? Can I talk to him?"_

Justin sighed.

"I don't think he's up for talking right now," he said, glancing over at Tommy. "He's in shock… And I didn't spend too much time checking for injuries—especially in the dark. I just wanted to get him home. So I know he's hurt, but I don't know how bad…"

Hayley took a deep breath.

"_Ok," _she said. _"Just—just please get him home. I need to see he's ok…"_

"Coming as fast as I can," Justin said. "We should be there within the hour, so be watching. He may need help getting in the house…"

"_I'll be watching," _Hayley promised. _"Just get back here safely."_

Hanging up with Hayley, Justin turned his focus back to the road as he sped through the dark toward Reefside. Despite several attempts, Justin couldn't get Tommy to respond to him. The older ranger just stared down at his feet and ignored anything Justin said to him. By the time Justin finally turned into Tommy's driveway, he was really starting to get concerned.

"We're back," he said, pulling up in front of the house. "Hayley is waiting for us. I saw her at the window."

Justin parked and started to climb out of the car. The front door of the house had just flown open and Hayley was rushing toward them. But before she could reach the car, or Justin could even get out, Tommy was moving. Surprising Justin and Hayley, he flung the door open and bolted out of the car. Hayley stopped, expecting him to come to her. But he ran straight past her and into the house. She spun in surprise, hesitating for a moment before going after him with Justin not far behind.

"Tommy!" Hayley exclaimed, rushing after him.

Hayley and Justin got into the house in time to see Tommy disappearing down the hall toward his office. By the time they got down there, he'd vanished.

"He's down in the lab, isn't he?" Justin said, looking around the empty office.

"Yes. Yes he is," Hayley sighed, walking over to the desk. "But at least he's home."

She hit the switch to open the door and turned around. Nothing happened. The trapdoor stayed close. Hayley stared at it in surprise for a moment and then tried again. Still nothing. She frowned.

"He locked it," she muttered. "That's not like him…"

"I told you," Justin said as she grabbed the computer off of the desk. "He's in shock. He ran to the lab because he knows it's safe."

Hayley sighed, fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Well, the good news is my password overrides his," she said. "So just a few more numbers and—well, that's odd…"

She frowned at the trapdoor in confusion. She'd entered the override, but the door still hadn't opened.

"Ok, that's it," she growled. "I'm getting down there right now."

Justin muffled a snicker as Hayley bent over the computer again as she continued trying to override whatever was keeping the trapdoor shut.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Babysitting Tommy**_

_The doorbell rang and Vida's head shot up. Scrambling to her feet, she darted for the door to see who it was. Tommy and Madison exchanged glances, shrugging. Madison went back to taking her turn. They were at the Rocca house playing a board game. Jason had run upstairs to finish getting ready to leave while they kept playing. He had to run out for a while, so Tommy was going to babysit the girls while he was gone. Their parents were out of town for the weekend._

"_Who's here?" Jason called as he came back down the stairs._

"_One of your friends and a kid I don't know," Vida called back._

_Jason rolled his eyes, continuing to the door to see who it was. Tommy watched suspiciously, though he didn't say anything. A moment later, Vida came darting back into the room, dropping back on the floor by the game and sprawling out on her stomach again. She was followed a little more slowly by Jason, Kat, and Justin. _

"_Hey Tommy!" Justin exclaimed, bouncing over to sit next to him. _

"_Hey, Justin," Tommy said, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "What are you doing here?"_

_He looked up at Jason as he asked the question, glaring at his best friend. Jason shrugged as Kat rushed over to give Tommy a hug._

"_How are you doing?" she asked, hugging him tightly. _

"_I'm fine," he said. "And Jason knows it. He's also leaving and I'm babysitting. So why are you guys here?"_

_Kat shrugged, smiling. _

"_You haven't been home in forever," she said. "And we wanted to see you. The girls don't mind if we're here, do you?"_

_She smiled at Madison and Vida. They both smiled back._

"_We don't mind," Madison agreed. _

"_Yeah, now there are more people to play games with," Vida grinned. _

_Tommy sighed, shooting another glare at Jason. Jason grinned back at him. Tommy knew why they were there, or at least he had a really good guess. It had only been a few weeks since they got the news about Zordon after the whole fiasco with the space rangers. After their families had left to return to Angel Grove, Tommy had a hard time for a week or so, spiraling back downward again in regards to controlling his magic. Jason had needed to come home for the weekend to watch the girls, so he'd brought Tommy. But even after the camping weekend he was still paranoid, so he had probably called Kat to see if she could come over while he had to go out for a few hours. Justin would have tagged along without a second thought. _

"_I'd better get going," Jason said, glancing at his watch. "Call me if you need anything."_

"_We'll be fine, Jason," Tommy said evenly. "We'll see you when you get back."_

_Nodding, Jason turned and headed out the door. _

"_So, what are we playing?" Kat asked. _

"_Monopoly," Madison answered. "But we can play something else now. Sis has pretty much lost anyways…"_

_Vida glared at her, but Madison just grinned back. _

"_Why don't we go outside for a while?" Tommy suggested. "We can't go to the park, but we can do something out in the backyard."_

_Liking the idea, Madison and Vida quickly put the game away and headed outside, Justin not far behind. _

"_Hey Tommy," Vida said, pausing. _

"_Yeah?" he said._

"_Can we see if Chip and Xander can come over?" she asked. "Jason said maybe earlier, but I forgot to ask again before he left. Just until dinner."_

_He smiled._

"_Sure," he said. "I don't see why not."_

"_Yes!" she said, darting back into the house to call them._

_A short time later, Xander and Chip joined the group in the backyard. Kat and Tommy sat down in chairs as they watched the kids kick a soccer ball around in circles._

"_This is good for Justin," Tommy said, smiling as he watched the youngest ranger running around. "He doesn't spend a lot of time with kids his age anymore. I mean, there's only a two year age gap between them."_

"_It's hard for him to connect with them sometimes," Kat said softly. "He's too much one of us now and with most of us away at school—or living somewhere completely different—he really doesn't know what to do with himself anymore."_

"_Yeah…" Tommy sighed. "When does he graduate?"_

"_Next year," Kat answered. "He still has to decide where he wants to go."_

_Tommy nodded and they both fell silent, laughing as Xander and Chip collided over the ball. _

"_So how are you really doing?" Kat asked. _

_Taking a deep breath, Tommy shrugged._

"_Some days are worse than others," he finally answered. "It's been harder since—well, since last month…But it's getting better again. Jason is planning on moving out before the start of fall semester."_

"_So you'll be by yourself again?" Kat said, a note of concern in her voice._

"_Nope," Tommy grumbled. "Hayley decided I need a permanent roommate…She's going to be signing the lease in the next month and taking the other bedroom as soon as Jason moves out…"_

_Kat laughed._

"_So when do the rest of us get to meet her?" she asked. "We've heard a lot about Hayley, but she still hasn't been around to meet all of us. I know I haven't actually met her yet."_

_Tommy sighed._

"_You'll meet her sooner or later I'm sure," he said. "She—"_

_He cut off, ducking as the soccer ball went flying over his head. Turning to see where it had come from, he saw Chip looking at him with wide eyes._

"_Whoops," he said. _

_Tommy laughed, grabbing the ball. _

"_Alright," he said. "Let me show you how you're supposed to kick this thing."_

_He jogged over to join them. After a moment, Kat hopped up and followed. Soon the four kids and the three rangers were completely engrossed in a game of soccer. _

Speeding up the driveway toward Tommy's house, Jason hung up with Adam. It had taken him a lot longer to get to Hayley's house than he'd planned on. Getting Mark to Trini's parents had been quite the affair—especially with the little boy being sick. It had taken a while just to get out of the house and then, once he dropped Mark off, it had taken a while for Jason to get away from his in-laws. He'd had to do some creative thinking to explain why he was dropping Mark off at their house after one in the morning. Seeing the blue jeep parked outside, he frowned as he parked and climbed out. He stared for a moment, sure he was seeing things.

"That can't be," he muttered, shaking his head. "There's no way."

The jeep beeped at him, flashing its headlights. Jason groaned.

"Oh, that's great," he sighed, turning to head up to the house. "But how—why do I even bother asking? It had to be Tommy."

He stopped suddenly as a thought occurred to him.

"That's why he won't let anyone up at the cabin!" he exclaimed, hurrying up onto the porch. "He's got Lightning!"

Shaking his head and muttering to himself, Jason reached for the door handle. He froze again when he realized it was already open. Walking in cautiously, he glanced around for a reason as to why the door might be open.

"Hayley?" he called, not immediately seeing or hearing anyone. "Hayley!"

"Back here!" she called from the direction of the office.

Frowning, Jason shut the door and headed down the hall toward Tommy's office.

"Hayley?" he said again, walking inside. "Justin? When did you get here?

Justin's head came up briefly from his computer screen to grin at Jason, but Hayley barely acknowledged his presence.

"You know your front door was open, right?" Jason said, looking at Hayley.

"Then close it," she snapped, not looking up.

"I already did," Jason grumbled. "And why aren't you down in the lab?"

Hayley sighed, looking up at him.

"Oh, I don't know Jason," she said shortly. "I guess I thought Tommy's run-of-the-mill work laptop would work far better than my state-of-the-art system down in the lab."

"And we're locked out," Justin added, glancing up from his computer again. "We're really not sure how Tommy did it, but we really can't get that door open."

Jason whipped around to look at Justin in surprise and then back at Hayley.

"You found him?" he exclaimed. "Where?"

"I did," Justin corrected. "And he was wandering down a road several miles outside of Briarwood."

Jason sighed in relief.

"Good," he said. "But why aren't you down there with him?"

Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Because he locked the door before we could catch up to him," she said, glaring at him. "I believe I already said that."

"Hayley," Jason said slowly. "We're talking about Tommy. How did he lock you out of your own lab?"

"I don't know!" she snapped. "The man can barely reset his own password some days without locking himself out and somehow he's managed to lock me out. I have a master override and it's not working!"

Jason put his hands up.

"Ok, ok," he said. "Have you tried just prying open the door?"

Hayley paused, glaring up at him again.

"No," she said. "The crowbar is just lying there for decorative purposes."

Jason looked at the floor by the trapdoor. There was indeed a crowbar lying there.

"Ok, didn't see that," he said sheepishly. "What about any of the other doors? Have you tried them?"

Hayley took a deep breath, giving him a look that said she was reaching a breaking point.

"Nope, didn't think of that," she said. "Two geniuses in the room and we had to wait for the average mind to arrive to remember that there are other entrances to try. Thank you oh so much for sharing your brilliant ideas."

Short rant over, she went back to her computer. Justin grinned at the slightly shocked Jason.

"We tried," he said. "Every single door. They're all the same. Nothing will open…"

Jason sighed, running a hand over his head.

"Alright," he said. "Well… hmm…"

He frowned, glancing at the trapdoor again as he tried to think of another way to get down in the lab.

"Is there any way to break through the ceiling of one of the tunnels?" he asked after a moment.

Hayley sighed, looking up from her computer.

"Oh, yes," she said. "As long as you have a way to break through several feet of nearly solid rock—not to mention the ten inches of steel reinforcing the tunnel ceilings put in place to keep it from collapsing again."

"Ah…" Jason said. "Wait! Have you talked to Trent yet?"

Hayley set the computer aside this time, crossing her arms as she glared at Jason from her chair.

"Oh, no," she said. "I completely forgot to talk to him. Maybe I should give him a call—oh, wait. He's on a jet flying back from the Bahamas and they haven't landed yet!"

Grabbing the computer again, she went back to ignoring Jason. Justin was laughing in his seat on the floor, doubled over his computer.

"Forgot about that," Jason mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"Obviously," Hayley said. "Now, unless you'd like to try prying up the door, please shut up so I can concentrate on what I'm doing. I am getting in there one way or another."

Jason started to open his mouth to counter, but decided against it. Leaning against the wall, he settled in to wait. For a long time it was quiet as Hayley and Justin kept their focus on their computers. Sometime later, they all glanced up to the sound of rushed footsteps in the hallway. Trent burst into the room followed closely by his father.

"Hayley?" he said, his gaze going straight to her. "What's going on? Have you heard anything else?"

Seeing Trent and Anton, Hayley was up on her feet in relief.

"Oh thank goodness," she said.

"Did you find Dr. O?" Trent asked anxiously, glancing at Jason and Justin before turning back to Hayley. "Is there any news at all?"

"We found him," Hayley said, smiling faintly.

Trent let out a sigh of relief, as did Anton.

"I found him," Justin added proudly.

Hayley shot him a look.

"Thank you, Justin," she said shortly. "Yes, I am extremely grateful that you found him, but if you don't stop saying that I'm going to give you something else to find—like a virus."

Justin's eyes widened.

"Umm… I'm hungry," he said quickly. "Do you have snacks?"

"Justin, we have Conner as a frequent guest in this house," she said drily.

"Right," he said, closing his computer and heading for the door. "You have snacks."

He darted out the door, grinning at Trent and Anton as he passed.

"Ok," Trent said, shaking his head. "Umm… Where is Dr. O?"

He frowned as he looked around the office, his eyes momentarily falling on the crowbar by the trapdoor.

"Uh—Hayley?" he said slowly. "Why is there a crowbar on the floor?"

She sighed, rubbing a hand over her face.

"He locked himself in the lab," she said. "And no, I have no idea. But I haven't been able to get down there and he's been alone for a couple of hours now…"

She glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see that it was already five in the morning. The search for Tommy and finding him had gone on all night.

"Trent, please?" she pleaded. "We need to get that door open. Justin said he's hurt."

He nodded.

"I'm on it," he said.

Walking over to the trap door, he crouched down and phased through the floor, disappearing from sight. With Trent down in the lab, Anton turned to Hayley.

"Hayley, now what happened?" he asked in concern. "Trent didn't give me the full story, but this is not like Tommy at all."

"I don't know the full story myself," she sighed. "But something happened in Briarwood last night…"

Taking a deep breath, she started explaining everything she knew. Jason listened quietly, wanting to hear everything himself. By the time she was done, Justin was back and he took over, explaining how he had found Tommy and what he could about his injuries. But when he was done, there was still no sign of Trent. Finally, about thirty minutes after Trent had disappeared, the trapdoor slowly creaked open. Everyone spun to see Trent pushing it open so he could walk out.

"Door is open," he said. "Sorry it took so long, but he really did a number on it. He pretty much disconnected all of the wires…"

"Of course he did," Hayley sighed, starting to dart for the stairs.

"Hayley, wait," Trent said, catching her before she could run down. "I think you should know before you go down there—someone really beat on him. He's passed out on the couch now, but…"

She paused, frowning at Trent.

"What do you mean?" she growled.

Trent took a deep breath.

"Well," he said slowly. "He's got a really bad burn on the back of his left shoulder and I think it might be dislocated…"

Everyone winced, most of them having felt that at one point or another.

"He's also got bruises everywhere and a couple other glancing burns," Trent continued. "It looks like someone may have tied him up at one point…"

There was a sharp intake of breath around the room. Stepping around Trent, Hayley stalked down the stairs into the lab with everyone trailing behind her. Down in the lab, Hayley rushed right over to Tommy who was stretched out on his right side on the couch. Jason, who had been the next behind Hayley, paused at the bottom of the stairs.

"Trent," he said, frowning. "What is that?"

He pointed off to the side where a long board with several nails still sticking out was leaning against the wall. There was a hammer a few more nails on the ground, too. Trent stopped to look.

"Oh, right," he said. "Dr. O had that nailed up over the trapdoor to keep it shut."

"No wonder we couldn't pry it open," Jason muttered as they all moved over to join Hayley. "He was really determined to keep everyone else out."

"Yep," Trent said, stopping next to Hayley.

She had sat carefully on the couch next to him and was gently shaking his shoulder.

"Tommy?" she said, trying to wake him up. "Sweetheart, wake up."

He just groaned, shifting and turning his head away from her. As he moved his head, though, something caught her attention. With a sharp gasp, Hayley reached over and tugged his shirt down out of the way.

"And that's the worst thing I saw," Trent said grimly as they all stared in shock.

There was a darkening bruise that wrapped all the way around Tommy's throat.

"Someone is going to regret this," Jason growled.

Hurried footsteps on the stairs announced more people and they all glanced over to see Conner, Kira, and Ethan running down the stairs.

"Hayley, did you find—Dr. O!" Conner exclaimed, seeing their teacher on the couch.

Looking relieved, the three rangers joined them. But when they reached the couch, they all froze. Hayley was still examining the bruise around Tommy's neck.

"Someone's gonna die," Conner snarled, whipping back around. "Let's go."

He started to stalk back toward the stairs with Kira, Ethan, and Trent following. But Jason quickly moved to intercept them, catching Conner by the arm.

"Hold on, Conner," Jason said. "You can't just take off like that."

"Wanna bet?" Conner snapped, yanking his arm away. "Watch me."

He started toward the stairs again, but Jason just planted himself in the way.

"You can't go running in without knowing anything," Jason said firmly, crossing his arms. "I want to make them pay as much as you do. He's my teammate and I'm not about to let someone get away with this, but you have no idea what you're getting into running into this blind."

"He's on my team, now," Conner growled. "And we can handle this. So get out of the way."

Conner tried to push past Jason, but the older ranger just caught him by the shoulder. Getting more frustrated now, Conner tried to pull away again. This time Jason didn't just let go.

"You aren't going anywhere," Jason said firmly, keeping his grip on Conner's shoulder.

"Let me go!" Conner exclaimed.

He tried spinning and shoving Jason off of him, but that just gave Jason a chance to put the younger ranger in a headlock. Soon they were struggling with each other as Conner tried to escape for the door and Jason tried to hold him back. Jason held the advantage of more training and his physical build, but Conner wasn't going down without a fight and Tommy had taught him well.

"Conner, maybe Jason's right," Kira said as they watched in exasperation. "We don't even know who did this to him."

"I don't care!" Conner snarled, elbowing Jason in the ribs. "We can figure that out when we get there."

After a moment or two of struggling, Jason finally pinned Conner to the floor. He used his weight to hold the younger ranger there, though Conner was still trying.

"I believe Jason is correct in his assessment," Anton commented quietly, now standing with the rest of Dino Thunder. "Conner, defending Tommy may be the right thing to do, but if you run in blind you may only get yourselves hurt."

"They're right, man," Ethan reluctantly agreed. "We need more info. Then we can go kick some butt."

With everyone agreeing with Jason, Conner stopped struggling.

"Fine," he muttered. "We'll wait. But someone is going to pay for this."

Jason eyed the younger red for a moment before hesitantly letting him up. He knew if Conner really wanted to disappear he could be gone before Jason could move. But Conner just stalked back over to Tommy and Hayley with the others.

"So what are you going to do, Jason?" Hayley asked, looking up at him. "Because if you don't do something, I will—and I don't have to play by your rules. Tommy was in Briarwood as a civilian, not a ranger."

Jason grimaced. He hadn't thought about that. While Hayley had agreed years ago to follow the Code in anything involving the rangers, she was right that it didn't apply to the current situation. Tommy had not gone to Briarwood as a ranger, so she could retaliate as she pleased.

"I'll start by going to Briarwood," Jason said after a moment. "There have got to be answers there somewhere. I have a good guess where a few of the bruises came from—Adam said Tommy got caught in the middle of a rather explosive fight."

Hayley sighed.

"Oh, I know," she said. "I dragged that out of them hours ago. But that doesn't account for everything. Something happened to Tommy after he left Rocky and Adam—I want to know what."

"And I'm going to find out one way or another," Jason said. "Justin, did he say anything at all when you picked him up? Give you any clues?"

Justin shook his head.

"I already told you everything I know," he said. "There was no one else in the area and he wasn't saying a word."

Jason sighed, nodding.

"Alright," he said. "Then I'm going to track down the rangers and see if they know anything—and lecture them for letting Tommy get caught up in the fight. They should have stopped that."

"Oh, you'd better be talking to them," Conner said shortly, crossing his arms. "And give them a message from us. Tell them they'd better get their butts in gear and figure out who did this before we come calling. They are not going to like our intervention."

"I'm going, I'm going," Jason said. "I'll tell you what I found out when I get back. Hayley, call me if he wakes up and says anything I need to know."

She nodded and he turned to look at the four younger Dino rangers.

"Stay here," he ordered. "All of you. I need you to stay with Tommy. We don't know who's after him and I don't want to risk something happening if they followed. So stay close and watch each other's backs until we know what's going on."

"No one is getting near him," Conner scoffed. "Not without going through all of us first."

Nodding, Jason turned to leave the lab. He was getting to the bottom of this one way or another.


	29. Chapter 29

When Jason pulled into Reefside a couple of hours later, he headed straight for the Rock Porium. He knew it was early, but he was hoping to find the rangers there opening the shop. At first he didn't see anyone and the shop was dark. He tried calling his sisters, but only got a busy signal which probably meant they were at Rootcore. So he settled in to wait. After a while he caught sight of the familiar figure of one of the rangers hurrying down the street. Climbing out of the car, Jason caught up to them as they reached the door.

"Chip, we need to talk," Jason said behind him.

Chip yelped, spinning around in shock.

"Jason?" he said in surprise, his eyes wide.

He let out a sigh of relief as Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Little jumpy this morning, aren't we?" Jason said.

"Umm… yeah. Sorry," Chip said quickly. "Just wasn't expecting anyone else out here. Toby goes in the back door…"

"Mmm hmm…" Jason frowned. "Where are the others?"

"Rootcore," Chip answered. "Why?"

"Good," Jason said. "Let's go."

"Wait—what?" said Chip, looking at Jason in confusion.

Jason sighed. Reaching over, he grabbed Chip by the back of the neck and forcibly turned him around.

"Rootcore—now," Jason growled. "I've got a bone to pick with the five of you."

"Alright, alright!" Chip yelped in protest as Jason propelled him back down the street. "I'm going!"

But Jason didn't let go as they made their way to the rangers' base. Something Hayley had told him hours before had been bugging him and he didn't like the implications of what she had said. He knew if he let go of Chip and the younger ranger tried to disappear with magic that he wouldn't be able to stop him. Chip kept asking him what was going on, but every time Jason just growled at him to keep going. When they finally reached Rootcore, Jason followed Chip inside.

"Uh—hey guys," Chip said as they walked in. "We, umm… we have a visitor."

Jason finally let go and Chip started rubbing the back of his neck as he stepped out of reach. The rest of the team was looking at Jason in surprise from where they'd been gathered near their crystal ball viewer. Daggeron was standing a short distance behind them. He'd been talking when they first walked in, but he was just watching now.

"Umm… Hey, big brother," Vida said slowly. "What are you doing here?"

They were all on their feet now, watching Jason warily. No one had expected him to come barging in like that.

"We need to talk," he said, crossing his arms. "What is going on over here?"

The rangers exchanged glances.

"What do you mean?" Madison asked. "We're just studying right now."

She glanced over at Nick as she spoke. He nodded, his face grim. Taking a deep breath, Madison turned back to her brother and started walking over to him.

"Jason, we need to talk to you, too," she said hesitantly. "Will you come sit down?"

She held out a hand to him, inviting him to come sit at the table with them. Sighing, Jason started walking over to join her, glancing up to where Vida and the others were standing next to the globe. Then he froze suddenly, staring in shock.

"Jason?" Madison said in concern as everyone tensed. "Jason, are you alright?"

"Where did you get that?" Jason growled, gesturing at the globe. "Or, better yet, how did you get that?"

The globe was currently showing a life-force scan, one that was extremely familiar to Jason. Jason recognized the scan immediately, having seen plenty of scans of Tommy's life-force over the years. The colors, which had always been present in some form, had grown more predominant over the years. But it was the green sphere in the center that held Jason's focus. When Tommy had first broken free of Rita's spell, they thought her dark magic had been banished forever. But some unnoticed seed of dark magic had taken root in Tommy—and they didn't catch it in time. Then, when Rita lit the green candle, things started getting worse. It drained him and nearly killed him as it pulled power from his life-force. So he gave up the power and, for a while, things seemed to get better.

But then the powers were recharged by Zordon. It wasn't until after that time that the rangers realized how closely tied to Tommy's life-force the dark magic had become. And by then it was too late to remove it. So over the years, beginning with Zordon's guidance, Tommy had learned to control and contain the darkness using his own life-force. And it worked. Occasionally, when Tommy was extremely stressed, angry, or exposed to too much magic bits of the dark magic would escape, but he was nearly always in control. And the fact that Jason could see the darkness pushing against that sphere just from the still scan was not a good sign. It meant Tommy had been losing control.

"Jason?" Vida said, repeating Madison's question. "Are you alright?"

"Delete it," Jason said sharply, shaking himself out of his memories.

They were too close to finding answers they weren't ready to deal with—if they hadn't already figured it out. All five rangers looked at him in surprise.

"But—" Madison started to protest.

"Now," Jason growled. "Delete it, destroy it—whatever you want to call it. But it needs to be gone right now. And it can't come back."

"No," Nick said, shaking his head. "We aren't deleting it. Not until we get answers."

"I'm not joking," Jason snapped. "Get rid of it now or I will find a way to smash the whole thing—and you won't be able to stop me."

All of the rangers looked at him with horrified expressions.

"Jason!" Vida exclaimed.

"Now!" he ordered, not backing down.

He knew he was outnumbered, but he had his morpher with him this time and he knew he could destroy that globe and any evidence of the scan before they knew enough to stop him.

"Not happening," Nick snapped, stepping between Jason and the globe. "I don't care who you are or who you're related to. Now what do you know about Tommy? You are going to tell us or I will personally make sure you can't leave here."

Nick's challenge was the last straw for Jason. The other four rangers, and their mentor, watched as he and the young red ranger faced off. Jason knew from what he'd seen that Nick was strong—both morphed and unmorphed. But none of them seemed to have any idea of what he himself was capable of.

"That's enough!" Jason snarled. "You are all completely out of line. None of you have any right to have seen what you have. If I had my way, you would all be stripped of your powers and replaced. Unfortunately, that is a decision that is beyond my control for the moment. At least until I've been able to assess what kind of damage you've done."

"Damage?" Nick scoffed. "We didn't hurt anyone—"

"There's more than one way to inflict hurt on someone," Jason interrupted, towering over Nick. "And you can rest assured that all of you will pay the consequences of your actions if you have caused any lasting harm. Tommy is—"

"Is an evil ranger who uses dark magic to hurt people," Nick snapped. "He's dangerous."

Jason froze, staring at Nick. He'd guessed, especially after seeing the scan, but actually having one of them say it was still surprising. The question now was how much they knew past Tommy's time as an evil ranger.

"Jason, Nick is right," Vida said hesitantly. "I know he's your best friend, but Tommy isn't who you think he is… You need to stay away from him."

Jason scoffed, shaking his head.

"Not happening," he growled. "Not after this. What did you do to him?"

"Jason, he's dangerous," Madison pleaded. "He—he tried to hurt us… he attacked Xander with magic and nearly hurt Nick, too!"

"Tommy would never hurt anyone without cause," Jason retorted. "Now what did you do?"

Chip, who had been listening to the exchange silently, now was staring at Jason in horror.

"You know," he said. "And you have known, haven't you? You've known Tommy was the green ranger."

Madison and Vida both whipped around the look at Chip in complete shock, obviously not happy with his implication.

"Of course I knew," Jason snapped. "I've known nearly since the beginning. Did you really think I wouldn't know?"

Now the twins spun to look at their brother, eyes wide.

"You knew?" Vida exclaimed. "You knew and you didn't say anything? Jason—how could you?"

He glared back at her.

"You five are making a lot of assumptions right now," he growled. "Now what did you do? Because I came here assuming some monster attacked Tommy, but now I'm not so sure."

"You've seen him?" Xander frowned. "Where?"

"Not a chance," Jason said. "None of you will be going anywhere near him until I know what you did—and even then you may not have a shot. Now answer me!"

"Jason, how could you?" Madison finally got out, stepping backward and away from him. "How can you be on his side?"

Jason frowned.

"Why wouldn't I be on his side?" he asked. "We've been on the same side for a long time."

"He's evil," Nick snapped. "And he attacked all of us. He's not welcome here. And if you're choosing his side, than neither are you."

"You guys really don't get it," Jason said, shaking his head. "You're making a lot of assumptions without any explanations. I'm gathering you didn't give Tommy a chance to say anything, but you need to listen. So give me a chance to explain before you make your final decision—I think you'll change your minds."

Madison gasped, her hand flying up to her mouth.

"That's what Tommy said, too," she stammered. "Jason, please don't do this."

"Maddy, I'm not against you," Jason sighed. "We're on the same side. But you've got to understand that what you did to Tommy is wrong. He didn't deserve any of that—"

"He deserved exactly what he got," Nick growled, taking a step toward Jason again. "We know what he is now, too, so don't think coming here and begging for him is going to change anything."

"And you're quickly wearing out your welcome, too," Xander added, moving to stand with Nick.

Jason was getting more and more frustrated now.

"Jason, you lied to us," Vida said, looking at him with hurt in her eyes as she stood next to her sister. "And what's worse is you've been lying to us all along. Why couldn't you tell us the truth? Why all the secrets? Maybe we could have helped."

"You couldn't have helped," he said. "At first you were too young and then it was over. We can't change any of it now."

"You don't have to be like him, Jason," Madison said softly.

He groaned.

"Girls, you aren't getting it," he said. "Things happened and we can't change them. I know I lied to you about a lot of things, but just give me a chance to explain. Tommy—"

"Enough about Tommy!" Nick exclaimed. "He's a problem and we'll take care of him eventually. Right now we need to know who you're going to side with. I hate to hurt you, if only because you're their brother, but we will take you out, too, if you become a danger."

"The only problem here is the five of you!" Jason shouted in anger, finally snapping. "You have absolutely no idea what he has done for all of you and until you understand that you will keep your mouths shut and you will respect him. In fact, you will respect all of us because at this point you cannot begin to comprehend the sacrifices others have made so that some of you could even be here today. You may be power rangers, but you are not the first ones."

"And what do you know about that?" Nick snarled. "You've never been in our position."

"I was there when the original power rangers saved Angel Grove from countless monsters," Jason snarled. "I got to see them save people time after time, putting their lives on the line every day to keep citizens safe. And I saw the consequences of misused power—even if the fault didn't always belong to the person in question. None of you would be here if it wasn't for them."

He was pushing now, trying to see what they really knew.

"That has nothing to do with you or with any of the original rangers," Nick snarled. "This is about Tommy and how dangerous he is. We refuse to let someone with such strong dark magic run loose forever. His days are numbered."

Jason froze, his gaze locked on Nick.

"You have no idea what you're saying," he said slowly, shaking his head. "And, if you move against Tommy like that, you will regret those actions for the rest of your life. So stand down and destroy that scan. Now!"

Nick snarled, reaching for his wand. Jason didn't back down, his hand shifting to his back pocket. But none of the rangers noticed, their focus completely on Nick.

"Don't, Nick," Madison said suddenly, grabbing his shoulder. "Just get rid of it."

Nick looked at her and the other rangers in surprise. But they were all nodding in agreement with Madison.

"We can't escalate," Vida said, shaking her head.

"But he—" Nick started to protest.

"Hasn't actually done anything," Chip said. "Jason hasn't lifted a hand against you."

"Fine," Nick snapped, jerking away from Madison and stalking a short ways away.

Jason didn't relax, eying him warily and ready to react. Madison took a deep breath, pulling out her own wand. Pointing it at the globe, she erased the scan.

"It's gone," she said, turning to Jason. "For good. We can't call it back. Now will you please listen to us?"

He didn't answer her question.

"You'd better not be able to," he said sharply. "Now listen well. This is your final warning. If you cannot get your act together, you will be acting alone. You have been warned and there will not be another—we don't help rangers who blatantly break the Code."

Turning, he stalked toward the exit.

"Jason, wait!" Vida cried. "Where are you going? And what are you talking about? Please don't do this."

"I'm going home!" he snapped, not pausing. "And you'll know if or when the time comes."

"Jason, if you go then we have to count you as an enemy," Vida said. "We can't afford to put the people who count on us in danger just because you're making bad choices."

He stopped, fists clenched as he stared straight ahead, not looking back at them.

"So be it," he said. "I made my choice a long time ago, and now you've made yours—I just hope you don't regret it later."

He stalked out without another word, leaving his sisters and their friends staring after him in shock. The stared for a moment, and then Madison bolted for the door.

"Jason, wait!" she cried, running out after him. "Please come back!"

Vida and the boys chased after her, hoping they weren't running into a trap. They found her outside, staring into the woods. Jason was nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" Nick asked, stopping next to Madison.

"Gone," she mumbled. "He took off running before I could get out here…I just—how could he do this?"

She turned to the others, fighting tears.

"Maybe Tommy has him under a spell," Xander suggested as Vida put an arm around her sister. "Daggeron did say his magic could be dangerous."

"Maybe," Nick said doubtfully, frowning. "But even if he is, he could still be a problem."

Sighing, he turned to the girls.

"Maddy, V," he said. "I'm sorry, but you're brother just put himself in a really bad position. You know you can't trust him anymore, right?"

Vida glared at him. Madison was still crying quietly.

"We get it, Nick," she snapped. "You don't need to rub it in. We know where are loyalties have to lie—no matter how hard it is…"

"We'd never put you guys in danger," Madison added quietly, her voice shaky. "We—we'll stay away from Tommy and Jason until we figure this out…"

With no sign of Jason coming back, the rangers headed back inside to do some damage control.

By the time Jason got back to Reefside, he had calmed down a little—though not a whole lot. The actions of the Mystic Force team still had him fuming. He still couldn't believe that they would attack another ranger like that—especially without giving them a chance to defend themselves. And on top of that, he had just walked away leaving his sisters and the rest of their team to fend for themselves, effectively cutting off any chance for aid from another team. Heading into the house, Jason was climbing up the steps when the door opened and Dr. Walsh came walking out.

"Dr. Walsh?" Jason said, pausing in surprise. "Is Tommy alright? What's going on?"

The doctor paused, sighing.

"He's sleeping again," he answered. "I gave him some medication for pain and to help him sleep, so he should be out for a while. He's going to need to rest that shoulder for a while and give it a chance to heal."

Jason nodded. Even though Dino Thunder had been done for a couple of years now, Dr. Walsh was still the only non-ranger doctor the rangers trusted. No one had ever actually told him anything and that was the way the doctor liked it. He helped fix up the rangers when Dana couldn't help and never asked any questions—which still surprised some of them given what Dino Thunder put him through in their last few months. He simply accepted whatever explanation they gave him without question. But all he wanted to do was help them without putting himself in a position where he might have to lie. As long as Dr. Walsh could only speculate, he could say with good conscience to anyone that he knew nothing.

"Thanks, Dr. Walsh," Jason sighed. "We'll keep an eye on him."

Nodding, the doctor made his way out to his car as Jason continued into the house. When he walked into the living room, everyone turned to look at who had come in. Anton was sitting and relaxing in one of the armchairs while Justin was lounging in the other. Kira and Trent were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, their legs stretched out toward each other, and Ethan and Conner were sprawled out on the floor. Everyone looked relaxed at first glance, but Jason knew they were anything but right now.

"Did you make them pay?" Justin asked the moment he saw Jason.

Conner's head shot up and he quickly sat upright.

"Are they dead?" he asked before Jason could answer Justin.

"No, they're not dead," Jason said, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Conner demanded.

"Because I can't kill them," Jason sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Why?" Ethan asked, sitting up. "Did you forget your morpher?"

Jason shot him a look.

"No, I did not forget my morpher," he said.

"Then why didn't you take care of them?" Kira frowned, swinging her feet around to rest on the floor. "Didn't the rangers help?"

Jason took a deep breath, hesitating. He knew an explosion was coming the moment the truth was out.

"It was your sisters, wasn't it?" Hayley said from behind Jason, surprising him. "Mystic Force attacked Tommy."

The younger rangers looked at Jason in surprise, but the way he flinched when Hayley made her accusation left no questions.

"Yeah," he said reluctantly. "It was—but how did you find out?"

"Something Tommy was mumbling in his sleep," Hayley said grimly. "Combined with 'they know' it wasn't hard to figure out. Did they explain what on earth they were thinking?"

"They didn't explain much of anything," Jason said shortly. "Outside of pointing out that Tommy was the original green ranger—they were really stuck on the evil part—and insisting that I stay away from him because he attacked them and he's dangerous."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Conner growled, on his feet now. "You're serious? The new team attacked Dr. O?"

"Because they found out he used to be evil?" Trent added furiously.

"They still think he's evil," Jason said. "They didn't give him a chance to explain anything."

Hayley had moved into the living room and was standing with her arms crossed.

"Oh, we'll make them regret that decision," Ethan snapped, standing up next to Conner. "There's no way he attacked them first."

"I'm in," Justin said, getting out of his chair. "No one is getting away with hurting Tommy like that—no matter who they are."

Kira and Trent were up now, too, all of them ready to retaliate for Tommy's sake. Anton was the only one still sitting, though he was obviously upset by Jason's news.

"They're not going to know what hit them," Conner growled, glancing around. "Ready, guys?"

"Let's go," Kira said as they all nodded.

"No one is going anywhere near there," Jason snapped, crossing his arms as he stood in the doorway. "So stand down."

"We're going," Conner said. "I know they're your sisters, but they deserve what's coming to them."

"Conner's right," Ethan agreed. "They had no right to do what they did—they could have killed him!"

"And there's no way Dr. O would have hurt any of them on purpose," Kira added. "I don't care what they claim—they escalated the fight, not him."

Jason took a deep breath as the rest of the group chimed in agreements.

"So we're out of here," Conner said, moving to walk around Jason. "Hayley, we'll be back later tonight."

"Enough!" Jason snarled, putting out an arm to stop Conner. "Stand down now!"

The younger rangers all froze in surprise. They rarely heard that kind of command from Jason. He generally left corralling them up to Tommy, focusing his own attention on the older rangers. But now his tone left no room for argument. He was visibly agitated by everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

"No one is going near Briarwood," he continued, his gaze daring any of them to argue with him. "It's bad enough that they attacked Tommy. We aren't going to start a war that's going to cause more pain than solve problems. My sisters—Mystic Force are on their own now. No one is going to fight them—or help them."

"We have every right to retaliate," Conner challenged. "They escalated the fight, not us."

"Tommy has the right to make that decision, not you," Jason snapped back. "He is the only one of us who knows exactly what happened. And with him out of commission for the moment, all five of you fall under my authority in ranger matters. None of you will set foot in Briarwood or the surrounding areas without my permission."

"But—" Ethan started to protest.

"No!" Jason interrupted. "Stay away. If, after he wakes up and is conscious enough to make a coherent decision, Tommy decides retaliation is the right path you can go then. But you will not make a move without consent from one or both of us. Understood?"

He looked at the younger rangers, waiting for their answer. They glared back, not ready to back down yet. Jason looked over at Hayley, too, knowing she was perfectly capable of retaliating without the aid of the rangers.

"Jason's right, guys," Hayley said reluctantly after a moment. "I want to make them pay as much as you do, but now is not the right time. If we take down their team, then we have to finish their fight and none of us are prepared for that."

"We can deal with it," Conner said. "We can't let them get away with this—they almost killed him!"

Jason flinched again at the reminder.

"Conner, we have to stand down," Kira said quietly behind him as she looked at Jason. "The whole thing is bad enough…do we really want to war against other rangers? Let's let them stew for now."

"And when we do move, they won't see it coming," Trent added. "We have the advantage of knowing who they are. They don't know who we are—right?"

All of them looked at Jason expectantly. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I don't know," he said. "They might, they might not. All I know for sure is that they found out about Tommy's time as a ranger and I'm pretty sure, from how angry they got with me, that they made the leap from him to the rest of the originals… You guys might be safe."

"Oh, that's reassuring," Ethan muttered. "Least we know Dr. O wouldn't have told them willingly…"

Conner was still glaring at Jason, arms crossed.

"Conner," Anton said quietly from the chair he was still sitting in. "Would Tommy want you to attack Mystic Force?"

Scowling, Conner slowly shook his head.

"No," he muttered. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't…"

He sighed, dropping his arms.

"Alright," Conner said, looking at Jason. "We'll stand down—for now. But if they do anything else like this then any promises go out the window. Remember, Dr. O is on my team now, not yours."

Jason glowered at him, but Conner didn't take it back.

"Oh, and one more thing," Conner scowled. "Reefside is ours. They set foot on our turf and you no longer get a say. We get to do what we want with them."

"Fair enough," Jason agreed. "But you are not allowed to lure them here in any way. The rule of it being your turf only applies if they come here of their own free will. Got it?"

"I got it," Conner muttered. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Well I certainly don't," Justin grumbled, plopping back down in his chair.

"Yeah, well, deal with it," Jason snapped. "Now if you'll all excuse me, I have to figure out how to tell everyone else without causing a run on Briarwood."

Hayley frowned.

"Jason?" she said. "Shouldn't you wait until Rocky and Adam get home? Or at least until they're close enough to you that you can take their keys and keep them from going back?"

Jason looked at her in confusion.

"Back where?" he asked.

"You did tell them they could leave Briarwood, right?" Hayley said. "That we found Tommy?"

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand on his forehead. The younger rangers started snickering as Hayley rolled her eyes.

"You mean to tell me they're still searching?" she said in exasperation. "Jason, they've been out there all night!"

"I was a little distracted," Jason said defensively. "I'll just tell them to come here so I can get their keys before I tell them what happened."

"Not if I tell them first," Ethan smirked. "And you haven't told them they can't retaliate yet."

He had his phone in hand and his fingers were flying over the keyboard.

"No you won't," Jason snapped, snatching the phone from Ethan. "And none of the rest of you are allowed to tell them either. That means you, Justin."

"Aww… But I was about to hit send…" he grumbled.

"Delete it," Jason growled as he deleted the message Ethan had been typing. "I'm going to call them. You guys can talk to them when they get here."

Turning, he hit the call button on Ethan's phone as he walked away.

"Wait! That's my phone!" Ethan protested.

"And you can have it back as soon as I'm done talking to Adam," Jason called back without turning around. "Hey, Adam. It's Jason…"


	30. Chapter 30

_**First Boyfriend**_

_Parking his jeep in the Roccas' driveway, Tommy climbed out and headed up to the house. He'd left his parents' house a little later than he intended, so he hoped he wasn't too late to meet Madison's boyfriend. She'd been extremely excited to have him meet the kid and he'd promised to stop by before he left town that evening. Knocking on the door, he only paused for a moment before heading inside. _

"_Tommy!" Madison exclaimed, coming to meet him._

"_Hey, Maddy," he smiled hugging her back as she threw her arms around him. "Sorry I'm late. Got a little caught up at home."_

"_It's fine," she grinned, grabbing his hand and tugging him toward the living room. "Grant is still here. Mom said he could stay for dinner tonight. Are you staying for dinner?"_

"_Not tonight," he said. "I've got a boat to catch and I don't want it to leave without me. Anton is expecting me back on the island tonight."_

_She pouted for a moment, but it didn't last long as they walked into the living room. Jason and Vida were both there along with a boy Tommy hadn't seen before. He knew right away that it had to be Grant. From the way Jason was laughing as he talked to the kid, Tommy could tell he approved. Vida seemed to like him, too. Letting go of Tommy's hand, Madison darted over and tugged Grant up off the couch._

"_This is Tommy," she smiled, bringing him over. "He's my other big brother. Tommy, this is Grant."_

_Grant slung an arm around Madison's shoulders as he held out the other hand to Tommy._

"_It's nice to meet you," he said politely. "Maddy's told me a lot about you."_

_Tommy nodded curtly, shaking his hand as he eyed him warily. Something about the kid seemed off to him. But he shrugged it off for the moment, not wanting to ruin Madison's good mood on a hunch. He'd watch for a little while before he said anything. _

"_Hey, man," Jason grinned, coming over to greet him. "How's the internship thing going?"_

_Tommy shrugged, grinning back. _

"_It's not just an internship anymore, bro," he said. "Anton made me a partner in the research."_

"_Really?" Jason exclaimed. "That's great! When did this happen?"_

"_Just before I left to come home for a visit," Tommy said. "Haven't had a chance to talk to anyone about it. But I thought you'd like to know before I left again."_

"_My turn," Vida announced, inserting herself to give Tommy a hug. "Do you really have to go all the way back out to that island? You're never home anymore…"_

"_Sorry, V," Tommy said, hugging her back. "But I've gotta work. Once our project is done I should at least be back on the mainland."_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah," she grumbled. "Why did you have to grow up? I liked it better before you and Jason had to work…"_

_Jason and Tommy both laughed and exchanged looks. Grinning at each other, they grabbed Vida and hugged her between them._

"_Hey!" she protested. "I can't breathe!"_

"_You're still talking," Jason retorted. "You're breathing."_

_She wiggled her way out, glaring at them. Tommy glanced over to see what Madison was doing and saw her and Grant sitting back down on the couch. She was smiling and ducking her head at something he'd said. But the way Grant was looking back at her set off warning bells in his head. _

"_Jase, let's run out to my car real quick," Tommy said quietly. "I need to talk to you about something."_

_Jason frowned, following Tommy's gaze. But he shrugged and followed. _

"_What's going on?" Jason asked the moment they were outside. _

"_It's Maddy's boyfriend," Tommy said, running a hand through his hair. _

"_Grant?" said Jason. "What about him? He seems like a nice kid."_

"_I don't think he is," Tommy disagreed. "He's just putting on a front for our benefit. How well have you gotten to know him?"_

"_I don't know," Jason shrugged. "I've only met him a couple of times. He's always been polite and extremely respectful."_

"_But did you see the way he was looking at Maddy just now?" Tommy asked. "I don't like the look he was giving her."_

"_Come on, Falcon," Jason said. "Now you're the one being paranoid. I've heard nothing but good things about this kid. He's new to the school but everyone seems to like him just fine."_

"_Rex, I'm serious," Tommy replied. "I grew up around kids like him in the orphanage. They're experts at playing the good kid just to get what they want. He'll play everyone he can until he gets what he wants and then he'll be gone."_

_Jason frowned, looking back toward the house._

"_Are you sure?" he asked slowly._

"_I wouldn't have said anything if I wasn't," Tommy said. "He may speak respectfully, but the way he was looking at Maddy just now was anything but."_

_Taking a deep breath, Jason didn't say anything for a moment._

"_Alright," he said grimly. "Let's go have a talk with the kid about his—intentions—toward Maddy. I'm not about to let him hurt my little sister."_

_He headed back inside, Tommy trailing behind him. Pausing in the living room doorway, he leaned against the frame as he watched Jason stalk over to Grant._

"_We need to talk, kid," Jason said, looking at him expectantly. "Outside."_

"_Umm… Alright…" Grant frowned, standing up. "Maddy, I'll be right back."_

"_Don't count on it," Jason muttered, following Grant as he headed for the door._

_Madison watched them go in shock. Tommy waited for Grant and Jason to pass him before turning to follow, so he didn't miss the look of hurt in her eyes as she realized what was going on. Vida was frowning at them, too. Back outside, Grant stopped and turned to face them both, crossing his arms._

"_So, what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked. _

"_What game are you playing?" Jason growled. "We saw the way you were looking at my little sister."_

"_What are you talking about?" Grant said._

"_Don't play innocent with me," Jason snapped. "What are your intentions toward Maddy?"_

"_Have I done something wrong?" Grant asked, avoiding the question._

"_I don't know," Tommy said quietly. "Have you? Why the change of schools in the middle of the school year?"_

"_No reason," Grant shrugged. "Parents just thought I'd be better off here."_

"_Uh huh," Jason said doubtfully. "And is that what they would say if we asked them? Or the school?"_

_Grant's eyes narrowed. Jason had hit on something._

"_It's none of your business," Grant said shortly. "I moved schools and that's the end of it."_

"_Is it?" Tommy said. "So then you're telling us that you didn't cause whatever problem prompted your parents to move you to a new school? That you're completely innocent of any wrongdoing?"_

"_I don't like what you're implying," Grant snapped, losing his cool. "You don't know anything about me. And besides, you aren't in charge of Maddy. She gets to make her own decisions and she likes me. So deal with it."_

"_Oh, I'm dealing with it," Jason snarled, taking a step forward. "Get out of here. I don't want to see you around my sister again and, if I do, you aren't going to like the consequences."_

_Grant scoffed._

"_You can't do anything to me," he said. "This isn't your house, she's not your kid, and you can't touch me. I can do what I want and there's nothing you can do about it."_

"_We don't have to touch you to make you wish you'd never laid eyes on her," Tommy said sharply, grabbing Jason's arm to stop him from hitting Grant. "But this is going to be your only warning: Stay away from Maddy or else."_

_Grant glowered at them both for a moment, but something must have told him not to try pushing because he suddenly spun and stalked away down the street. Madison, who had apparently followed them out and had been standing on the porch, suddenly let out a cry and went flying down the street after him. Jason started to follow, but Tommy stopped him._

"_Give it a moment," he said. "I think he got the message."_

_They watched as she caught up to Grant, trying to stop him and bring him back. He jerked his hand away from her, snapping something and gesturing toward them before stalking away again. Madison stared after him for a few moments before she slowly came walking back._

"_You're both jerks!" she shouted when she reached them. "I can't believe you did this to me. I hate you both!"_

"_Maddy—" Tommy started to say, but she just darted toward the house and slammed the door shut behind her._

"_Great," Jason muttered as they headed back inside. "Just great…"_

_Tommy sighed, shrugging._

"_She won't hate us forever," he said as Jason opened the door._

_When they walked inside, Vida was standing at the bottom of the stairs. She turned to glare at them when she heard them come in._

"_What did you do?" she exclaimed. "And where's Grant?"_

"_He's not staying for dinner," Jason said shortly. "And he won't be around anymore."_

"_Jason! Tommy!" Vida said in surprise. "Why would you do that to her?"_

"_The kid is bad news, V," Tommy said. "I know Maddy doesn't want to hear it right now, but he would have hurt her sooner or later. Haven't you seen the way he's been looking at her? Like she's a prize or some kind of toy? This was all a game to him."_

_Vida frowned, thinking about what Tommy was saying._

"_I guess so…" she said slowly. "I mean, he was always trying to get rid of me so that the two of them could be alone…And I'm not just saying that because I'm jealous of Maddy spending time with someone else."_

_Jason chuckled, reaching over to ruffle Vida's short hair._

"_We believe you, kiddo," he said as she swatted his hand away. _

"_Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Rocca called from the kitchen._

"_You sure you can't stay for dinner, bro?" Jason asked._

_Tommy sighed, shaking his head._

"_I can't," he said. "Mom already made me eat before I left anyways and if I don't get going I really will miss my boat."_

_Jason nodded._

"_Take care of yourself, Falcon," he said._

_Tommy grinned._

"_Bye, Tommy," Vida said, giving him a tight hug. "Maddy went up to her room if you want to say goodbye to her."_

"_I'll try," he said. "Though I have a feeling she isn't going to talk to me right now…"_

_He headed up the stairs to try anyways. Madison's door was shut, so he knocked._

"_Hey Maddy?" he said. "It's Tommy. You in there?"_

_She didn't answer him. Sighing, Tommy ran a hand through his hair._

"_I'm heading out," he said, trying again. "Do you want to come out and say goodbye to me?"_

_Still no answer._

"_Alright," Tommy sighed. "I'll see you in a few months. Bye, Maddy."_

_Turning he headed back down the stairs. Jason was waiting at the bottom. Tommy shook his head in answer to the silent question._

"_She'll forgive you," Jason said. "Well, both of us. She always does."_

"_Yeah, I know," Tommy said. "But it's a little harder when I know I'm going to be so far away… Keep an eye out for that kid, though. He could still cause trouble."_

"_Oh, don't worry," Jason growled. "If he tries I'll get some of the others involved. He'll go away real fast."_

_Tommy snorted._

"_One phone call to Hayley would fix any problem with him," he said. "Though I would recommend saving that as a last resort. She doesn't exactly hold to our Code unless it's a requirement."_

"_Don't I know it," Jason muttered. "Good thing she likes most of us or everything would be out for the world to see."_

"_You two are weird…" Vida said._

_She had just walked back out into the hallway to hear the last of what they were saying. Laughing, Tommy nodded and headed for the door. As he walked out, he heard Mrs. Rocca calling for Madison to come down for dinner. He didn't pause, though, heading out to his car and climbing in. Vida waved from the door, grinning as he pulled away._

"_Well this doesn't make sense…" Tommy muttered, staring at the papers in front of him. _

_He sighed, running a hand through his hair._

"_Maybe I've been staring at them too long," he sighed. "I really should get something to eat…"_

_But he didn't get up. Instead he shifted to the next set of reports, trying to figure out just what was going on with the project. They'd hit a bit of a stumbling block and it was driving him nuts that he couldn't find out why. The phone started ringing, though, so he set down the report and picked it up._

"_This is Thomas Oliver," he said absently, shifting through a few more papers._

"_Tommy?" a familiar voice sobbed on the other end. "Tommy, I'm sorry…"_

_He immediately set down the papers, turning his full attention to the phone call._

"_Maddy?" he said. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"_

"_I'm fine," she said, despite the fact that he could hear her crying still. "I'm sorry…"_

"_Sorry for what?" he asked, frowning. _

_She sighed._

"_For saying I hated you…" Madison mumbled. "You were right about him…"_

_Tommy's eyes narrowed._

"_What did he do?" he asked sharply._

"_He was cheating on me!" she cried. "We were dating for two weeks and the whole time he was going out with another girl from his old school and—"_

_She cut off, taking a deep breath._

"_And what?" Tommy prodded gently. _

"_The other girl is pregnant…" she said quietly in answer._

_Tommy grimaced, taking a deep breath of his own as he ran a hand through his hair._

"_I'm sorry, Maddy…" he said. "I wish I had been wrong for your sake…"_

"_It's ok…" she said. "I'm glad you and Jason interfered—I really don't hate you."_

_Tommy chuckled._

"_I know you don't," he said. "Never thought you did."_

"_When are you coming home again?" she asked._

_Leaning back in his chair, Tommy sighed. _

"_Not for another couple of months," he said. "We've got a lot going on here right now…But if I could get away I would come back now."_

"_I know," she mumbled. "But I could really use a hug right now—and Jason is gone for the week at some karate competition…Mom and dad are trying, but they just keep trying to tell me to be more careful next time. I know they're just trying to take care of me, but…"_

"_But that's not what you want to hear right now," Tommy finished for her. "Well, I have an idea. I actually just got off the phone with my mom a little while ago and she told me she was making cookies. I'm sure she'd be happy to see you—and I also happen to know she gives great hugs."_

_Madison laughed faintly and Tommy smiled._

"_I guess I could walk over there," she said. "I should probably take sis, too. Mom and dad are trying not to lecture her, but she's going to hear it eventually…"_

_Tommy frowned._

"_Lecture her for what?" he asked._

"_Umm…Vida's been suspended for two days," Madison answered hesitantly._

"_Why?" Tommy sighed. _

"_Because she may have punched Grant in the face," she said._

_Tommy snorted, turning his laugh into a cough. _

"_And why did she do that?" he asked. "Not that he doesn't deserve a lot worse."_

"_Well, once they found out about the other girl, Vida, Chip, and Xander all went to confront Grant and demand an apology for me," she explained. "I wasn't there, but I guess he said some things about me that weren't so nice… V kind of lost it and decked him. Chip and Xander are both mad she hit him before they could…"_

_Tommy couldn't help it. He burst out laughing._

"_Good for her," he said. "And if I ever get my hands on that kid he's going to regret anything he's said. Does Jason know yet?"_

"_No," Madison said quickly. "I'm going to wait until he gets home to tell him. I don't want to distract him during his competition."_

"_Alright," Tommy said. "Then I won't say anything to him, either. But may I make a suggestion?"_

_She paused._

"_Umm… ok?" she said._

"_Tell him at the dojo," he said. "That way he has something to hit that's not going to break."_

_Madison started laughing. _

"_I will," she said, sounding a lot happier than she had._

"_Sounds good," he said. "Now go get your sister and head to my house for some cookies. I'll talk to you soon, ok? And I promise that your house will be the first place I stop next time I come back to Angel Grove."_

"_Deal," Madison said. "Bye…"_

_Hanging up, Tommy shook his head as he stared up at the ceiling for a moment. _

"_Alright," he muttered to himself as he sat back up. "Now what is going on with this?"_

"What is going on with this stupid computer?" Nick exclaimed, glaring at the register system. "Why won't it let me log in?"

Chip and Xander just shrugged in response. They'd already tried logging in with no success. All of the rangers had been having trouble with the computer system at the Rockporium for the past couple of days. Toby walked out of his office to see what the fuss was about just as Nick started banging on the side of the machine.

"Hey!" Toby exclaimed. "If you break that it's coming out of your paycheck."

"Toby, it's already broken," Xander sighed. "It hasn't been working for days…"

Toby frowned, walking over to take a look.

"It should be working perfectly," he said. "I just got it upgraded last week. Move over."

Nick shrugged, moving out of the way. Toby stepped over to the computer and typed in his log-in information. It logged him right in.

"See, works perfect," he said.

"But I just did that!" Nick exclaimed.

Toby chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're probably using the wrong password," he said. "Reset it and try again."

Turning, he headed back toward his office. Nick just sighed.

"Already changed it four times," he muttered as he tried again. "See! It's still not working! I give up…"

Throwing his hands up, he stalked away from the computer. Chip and Xander sighed and followed, not wanting to deal with it themselves either.

"Your turn, Leelee," Xander said as they walked past, glaring at her. "You're officially the cashier for the rest of the week."

"Umm…Ok," she said, smiling faintly.

Shaking their heads, the three boys joined Madison and Vida over in the corner. They were both sitting quietly.

"Everything alright?" Chip asked. "You two have been kind of quiet the past couple of days."

They shrugged.

"It's nothing," Vida said, shaking her head.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Xander said, sitting down in a chair. "What's going on?"

"It's Jason," Madison said quietly. "And Tommy… And everything that happened last week…"

Nick frowned.

"Maddy, there's nothing we can do about that right now," he said. "You know that."

"We do know that," Vida said. "Doesn't make it any easier… Jason is our brother. And Tommy's been like a big brother to us, too, for as long as we can remember…"

Sighing, Nick grabbed a chair and sat down with the rest of the team.

"I can't make it easier," he said, looking at the girls. "But you know we're all behind you. And as soon as we can, we'll give saving them a shot."

Madison and Vida nodded in gratitude.

"But right now," Nick continued. "We have to keep our focus here. If you let them distract you and keep you from fighting, then the darkness wins and everything we've done will have been in vain. You can't let this get in your way."

The girls sighed, nodding as they listened to Nick.

"You're right, Nick," Vida finally said. "There's no point in getting all worked up over this. It'll just distract us."

"We'll try and let it go for now," Madison agreed. "At least until we have the time…"

He smiled at them.

"See?" he said. "That's better. And, if anything does start happening with them around your family, we'll act then. Ok?"

The girls nodded, smiling faintly. Then the morphers beeped and they sighed.

"Back to work," Nick said, leading the way out the door.


	31. Chapter 31

Okay so we have gotten both positive and negative feedback on this story, as expected. As said before i won't stop you from having your own opinions on this. We like the story, it's not our fav we have ever written but we like it. If you have any suggestions on how to make people more true to character please let us know! The thing to remember is that people are going to be different just because we have changed their past. Thanks for all the reviews and if you have a negative opinion then please don't feel like you have to review as a guest so we can't reply, we don't bite really.

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Jason walked down the hallway toward Tommy's office. When no one had answered his knock, he had tried the door and found it open. Figuring Tommy and Hayley were down in the lab, he'd let himself in and was going to find him. Pushing open the door to Tommy's office, Jason stopped in surprise to see Hayley sitting at the desk. She didn't look up as he walked in, completely absorbed in what she was doing on the laptop in front of her. Frowning, Jason walked around to see what she was working on.

"Hayley, what are you doing?" he asked as he looked at her screen.

She jumped, looking up at him in surprise.

"Jason!" she exclaimed, quickly clearing her computer screen. "What are you doing here?"

"Hayley, were you messing with Mystic Force's computers?" he asked suspiciously, fairly certain he'd seen something about the Rock Porium on her screen before she cleared it.

She hesitated for a moment, but decided he'd seen too much for her to deny it.

"Just the ones in the Rock Porium," she said.

Jason snorted.

"Those are the only ones they have," he said.

"Well, it's not my fault everything they have in their base is run by magic," she pouted, crossing her arms. "I tried to get in there and couldn't get connected…Wait a minute…"

"What?" Jason frowned.

"I wonder…" Hayley mused. "Maybe if I uploaded through Tommy's power coin and the morphing grid—"

"No," Jason interrupted adamantly. "Hayley you can't do that. That's abuse of Power!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Like I'd actually risk his power coin," she said. "But I could make it work."

Jason glared at her.

"Where's Tommy?" he asked.

"Cutting down a tree," she answered, back on the laptop again. "It's getting too close to the power lines and we want to take care of it before it causes too many problems."

"Uh, Hayley?" Jason said in concern. "Should he be cutting anything down with his shoulder still healing?"

"Oh, relax," Haley said, waving a hand at him. "The kids are out there with him. He's just supervising."

Jason groaned.

"That does not make me feel better," he muttered, turning toward the door. "I'm going to go make sure no one is dead. Where exactly should they be?"

Hayley directed him to where the tree would be and Jason headed out of the house and into the woods. He didn't have to go far before he found Tommy and the rest of his team—though he heard them before he saw them. When he reached the spot, the first person he saw was Tommy. He was sitting on the ground, his left arm in a sling as he leaned back against a tree. Tommy was watching Kira and Conner as they argued. Ethan was standing near them, his attention on the chain saw in his hand. Jason didn't see Trent standing with them.

"Hey, Tommy," Jason said, stopping next to him. "So, what's going on?"

"We're cutting down a tree," Tommy answered, not taking his eyes off of the kids.

Jason frowned.

"I don't see a mark on any of them," he said, glancing around. "Have they touched a tree yet?"

"Nope," Tommy said. "They haven't gotten that far yet. Conner thinks it's that tree; Kira thinks it's that one."

He pointed at two different trees over by the trio.

"The X is on that one," he continued, pointing in the other direction.

Jason looked over to see Trent leaning against the tree with the X, axe in hand as he watched the rest of his team.

"Hey," he said, nodding in Jason's direction.

Jason nodded back, turning back to Tommy who was still talking.

"And Ethan just wants to get the chainsaw working," he was saying.

"Hold on," Jason said. "He's the smartest one—other than Hayley—in your group and he can't get the chainsaw running?"

Tommy sighed.

"He's a genius with computers," he said. "Not motors."

Jason nodded, knowing Tommy had a point.

"And none of them grabbed the gas can from the shed," Tommy finished.

Jason snorted.

"Oh, that's smart," he said.

"Mmm hmm…" Tommy said.

Jason frowned, glancing at his best friend. Something was off about the way Tommy was acting. He was watching the kids, and Jason knew he'd jump in to help if he needed, but he just didn't seem to be as focused on what was going on as he normally would have been. On a normal day, Jason would have expected him to be laughing so hard he couldn't breathe as he waited for his team to figure things out. But he was just staring, watching them quietly.

"Wait a minute," Jason said, glancing around. "Don't you need some kind of chain to direct the tree as it falls? I don't see one."

"Still in the shed," Tommy said absently. "I told them we'd need it, but they were a little distracted by Conner and the ax."

Jason glanced over at the kids in concern, but no one was bleeding and Conner no longer had the axe—which was a good thing considering he was waving his hands around as he argued with Kira.

"So, how long has this been going on?" Jason asked, trying to keep Tommy talking.

He shrugged.

"Are you talking since we got here or since we left the house?" he said.

Jason looked at him in surprise.

"When did you leave the house?" Jason said.

Tommy glanced at his watch.

"About an hour ago," he answered.

Jason frowned.

"They've been at this for an hour?" he said in surprise.

"Nope," said Tommy. "We only made it out here about ten minutes ago."

Jason raised an eyebrow. Tommy smiled faintly, shaking his head.

"Well, Hayley decided we needed to take care of the tree today since the kids were here to help," he said, starting to explain. "It didn't take too long to get out of the house because they were excited. Conner beat the rest of us to the shed and grabbed the ax."

"Oh, that sounds safe…" Jason muttered.

"No one got hurt," Tommy said. "But they grabbed the chainsaw, too, and were heading back out as I was trying to go over the list of everything we needed. So I just let them go. Then Conner took off in the wrong direction, with the other three following him as he ran ahead with the axe…"

Sighing, Jason shook his head as Tommy continued.

"Instead of following them, I started heading in this direction and waited at the edge of the woods for them to realize I hadn't followed," he said. "Took about fifteen minutes, but they finally came back. By that point it had been about a half hour or so. We made it out here in about ten minutes and have been here since. I've just been waiting to see how long they'll argue before realizing Trent is the only one near the correct tree…"

Jason chuckled, shaking his head. They were both silent for a moment as Kira and Conner continued to argue, each adamantly insisting they knew which tree they were supposed to be cutting down.

"You know, I'm pretty sure they're doing it on purpose," Tommy said quietly after a few moments.

Jason frowned, glancing down at him and then back at the kids.

"I guess I wouldn't put it past them," he agreed. "But either way, it's entertaining."

Tommy nodded as Jason sat down next to him.

"So, I think I'll just join you," Jason said, making himself comfortable.

Smiling faintly, Tommy didn't argue as the two men continued to watch the younger rangers.

_**Explosions and Missing Tommy**_

"_Hey sis, where's the remote?" Madison asked, glancing around the living room with her hands on her hips. "We have a current events report due tomorrow, remember?"_

_Groaning, Vida fell backward on the couch, muttering to herself. Rolling her eyes, Madison started searching for the remote. But she couldn't find it anywhere. Deciding to check under the couch cushions, she started poking at Vida, tickling her to get her twin to move._

"_Hey!" Vida protested, falling off the couch with a thump._

"_Well, if you would help I wouldn't have to do that," Madison said as she searched the couch. "Ah ha!"_

_She held up the remote control triumphantly._

"_You know," she said with a grin, looking down at Vida. "It's going to be awfully hard to watch the TV from down there."_

_Vida reached up and snatched a cushion off the couch, whipping it up at her sister. Madison blocked it, laughing, so Vida grabbed her ankle instead, tipping her onto the couch. Grabbing another pillow, Madison hit Vida back and soon a pillow fight was going on, the remote forgotten on the floor as the fourteen year old twins pummeled each other with couch pillows. _

"_Girls!" Mrs. Rocca exclaimed, walking into the living room. "Aren't you supposed to be doing homework?"_

_They froze in the act of hitting each other with pillows, turning to look at their mother._

"_Umm… yes," Madison said quickly, dropping her pillow. "We were just—"_

"_Looking for the remote!" Vida said, snatching it off the floor. "See? Here it is."_

_She smiled innocently at their mother, who just sighed and shook her head. _

"_Just get it done," she said, leaving the room again. _

_Giggling, the girls dropped down onto the couch._

"_Alright, let's get this over with," Vida grumbled as Madison turned on the TV. _

_She flipped through several news channels, trying to find something at least somewhat entertaining to write a report on._

"_Ooo!" Vida suddenly exclaimed. "Stop there! There was some kind of explosion."_

_Rolling her eyes, Madison left it on the channel and set aside the remote, grabbing her notebook instead. _

"_Wow," she said, turning back to the TV. "It was an entire island…"_

_The news reporter seemed just as shocked as the girls. She was saying something about the small island off the coast having exploded not too long before. _

"_The small, unnamed island began evacuations just a few hours ago," the reporter said. "It is still unknown what occurred there, but even from shore you can see the smoke rising from the wreckage."_

_Madison frowned. _

"_Where is that?" she asked. "You don't think that was where Tommy was, do you?"_

_Vida shook her head._

"_Nah," she said. "Tommy's studying to be an anthropologist—"_

"_Paleontologist," Madison corrected._

_Vida rolled her eyes. _

"_They both study old things," she retorted as Madison sighed and shook her head. "The point is—just how dangerous could his job possible be?"_

_Both girls froze as the reporter continued. _

"_The island was the location of a top secret project for Mercer Industries," she was saying. "Little is known about what research was actually going on there, but over the past twenty-four hours a series of unfortunate events has brought the research to a rather abrupt halt. Anton Mercer, owner of Mercer Industries and head of the project, went missing—"_

"_That was Tommy's island!" Madison exclaimed, her eyes wide. "That's who he's working for."_

"_But they said the island was evacuated," Vida said, trying to reassure herself and her sister. "There's no way he was on it when it blew up."_

"_And while there is still no sign of Anton Mercer," the reporter continued, "most of the personnel employed on the island were safely evacuated before the explosion occurred. Currently there are only two others listed as missing, both of them high level researchers on the project. Neither name has been released as of yet, but—"_

_The front door slammed open, making both of them jump and spin in surprise. Jason sprinted into the living room, phone pressed to his ear as he snapped at whoever was on the line._

"_I've already heard this from three other people, Zach!" he snapped. "I'm by a TV now. Let me figure out what's going on and then I will call everyone. If you guys don't stop calling me I may miss something important about—"_

_Seeing his sisters sitting in the living room and what they were watching, he froze._

"_I've gotta go," he said roughly, hanging up the phone. "What are you two doing?"_

"_We were doing our current events report," Madison said. "Jason, that's not really Tommy's island, is it?"_

_Jason sighed, running a hand over his head as he walked to join them on the couch._

"_I'm afraid it is," he said, sitting down between them as he watched the TV. _

"_But Tommy wasn't on it, right?" Vida asked. "He evacuated with everyone else, didn't he?"_

_Groaning, Jason rubbed a hand over his face. _

"_Jason?" Madison said._

_Both of them were looking at him hopefully, but he just shook his head._

"_I'm sorry…" he sighed. "But Tommy is one of the three still missing…he never checked in after evacuation."_

"_No!" Madison cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "He can't have been on there! He's supposed to come home in a month for a visit. He promised!"_

_Vida just stared in shock, shaking her head in denial. Sighing, Jason put an arm around both of them. _

"_I'm sure he's fine," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "You know how Tommy is—he probably got distracted helping someone else and forgot to check in. They'll find him and then we can all yell at him for scaring us all to death."_

_The girls buried their faces against him, both crying now. Mrs. Rocca came rushing into the room. Her face was pale and she was clutching the house phone. _

"_Jason!" she said in surprise. "What—Have you heard?"_

_He nodded grimly._

"_Yeah," he said. "That's why I'm here…I was closer to here than my house and I wanted to see the news for myself…"_

"_Have you heard anything from Tommy?" she asked hopefully._

"_Nothing," he said, shaking his head as he continued to hug the girls. "Hayley can't even get a hold of him…"_

_Mrs. Rocca took a deep breath._

"_I just spoke with his father," she said. "His mother isn't taking the news well…"_

"_I should go over there," Jason said, taking a deep breath._

"_We'll all go," Mrs. Rocca said. "They'll want someone to help with dinner and company will be a good thing right now. Girls?"_

_Both of them glanced up at their mother, nodding. _

"_Go get your things," Jason said. "I'll meet you there. I need to go get Trini and make a few phone calls…"_

_Extracting himself from his sisters, he strode toward the door._

_The atmosphere at the Oliver house was subdued all evening. Mrs. Oliver spent most of the time sitting in her chair, watching the phone and hoping for a call as Mr. Oliver paced around the house. Jason had arrived shortly after his parents and sisters with Trini and two-year-old Mark in tow. But he hadn't spent a lot of time actually inside the house. He kept slipping back outside to answer phone calls or to make a call, and when asked who he was talking to he just shrugged it off as not important. Madison and Vida tried to play with their nephew, but their hearts just weren't in it. _

"_Here, let me take him," Trini said softly, reaching out to pick up her son later that evening. "I should start getting him ready for bed anyways."_

_The girls nodded mutely, allowing her to take the baby. Trini mumbled quietly to him, concern still clearly visible on her face. When she had arrived earlier they could tell she had been crying, but they hadn't actually seen her cry at all. But there had been plenty of tears all around as the day wore on and there was still no news of Tommy. The facilities housing the evacuated personnel had been checked thoroughly several times and there was no sign of Tommy, Anton Mercer, or the other missing man. They were just gone. _

"_Any news?" Trini asked, looking at Jason as he walked back inside again._

_He shook his head._

"_Nothing," he said softly, stopping to hug Trini and Mark. "Between Hayley and me we've called everyone we could possibly think of to help search and they're all coming up with the same results. There is no sign of him anywhere…" _

_She nodded, taking a shaky breath before continuing out of the room to get Mark ready for bed. Mr. Oliver had offered all of them use of their guest rooms for the night, which they had all gratefully accepted. Mrs. Oliver had gone to lie down several hours before at her husband's insistence. He said she'd cried herself to sleep. Mrs. Rocca had taken over fussing and making sure everyone was taken care of as Mr. Rocca and Mr. Oliver sat quietly near the phone. _

"_They're going to find him, right?" Madison asked quietly, looking at Jason. _

"_We're doing everything we can, kiddo," he said, holding out his arms to her._

_She walked over for a hug, burying her face in his shirt. _

"_I didn't hug him goodbye," she mumbled, starting to cry again. "I told him I hated him and I wouldn't hug him goodbye…"_

_Jason sighed, hugging her tighter. _

"_It'll be alright," he said. "You'll see. Tommy's pulled out of worse."_

"_When?" she said, looking up at him. "How has anything he's done been worse than this?"_

_Jason hesitated._

"_It's not important right now," he finally said. "But believe me, if anyone is going to get through this it'll be him."_

_His phone started ringing again and Jason quickly pulled it out of his pocket. _

"_I've gotta take this," he said. "You should try and eat something, I know you didn't eat much at dinner."_

_She nodded mutely as he spun and headed for the door again. _

"_Wes," he said as he answered the phone. "Please tell me you've found something—"_

_The door front door shut behind him, cutting off the conversation. Madison turned and wandered back toward the sitting area where everyone else was. Vida had curled up in one of the chairs, hugging a pillow. Seeing the look on Madison's face, Mr. Rocca held out his arms for her to come to him. So she inserted herself onto the chair with him and he wrapped his arms around her. For the rest of the evening they waited anxiously for news, but nothing came. Which meant sleep didn't come easily either. Vida and Madison ended up on the couch in the living room at the Oliver's while their parents went home for the night. They curled up together as they tried to sleep, not caring for a little while that they were fourteen and supposed to be too old to share a bed anymore. But even sharing a bed they still didn't sleep well, both of them waking up with nightmares that kept them awake for most of the night. But by morning, there was still no change. No one had heard anything at all from Mercer Industries and Jason's phone calls were getting him nowhere except frustrated. _

"_Why do I even bother?" he growled, storming back into the room. "Nobody is doing anything!"_

"_Jason," Trini said soothingly, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm sure they're doing everything they can—"_

"_It's not enough," Jason snapped, earning himself a look from his wife and his mother. "I'm sorry…"_

"_I know," Trini sighed. "Jason, you know they have to operate within the rules. It's not fair to expect anything else from any of them. And they're busy with their own problems right now. Technically you shouldn't have even called Carter."_

"_Yeah, I know," he muttered. "But right now I really just want to throw the rules out the window…"_

_Trini shook her head as several people frowned at Jason in confusion. _

"_You don't get to make that call," she said quickly, trying to move on from the subject. "At least not just you. The rules are there for a reason and we can't just break them on a whim—even for him. Now why don't you come eat something?"_

_She ushered him toward the kitchen, effectively stalling any questions from the others in the room. The morning continued to drag by, slowly passing lunch and turning into afternoon. A knock on the door finally broke the monotony of waiting for a phone call. _

"_Maddy, could you please get that?" Mrs. Rocca asked. "I'm sure it's just a neighbor stopping by, but right now isn't a good time for other visitors."_

_Sighing, Madison nodded and headed toward the door. She really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. Getting to the front door, she unlocked and opened it. _

"_Hello—" she started to say, freezing in complete shock when she saw who was standing there. _

"_Oh," Tommy said in surprise, looking at her in confusion. "Maddy, why are you at my house? Although I guess you weren't at your house when I went there—"_

"_Tommy!" she screamed, launching herself at him. _

_Her scream echoed through the house, catching everyone's attention. Vida was the next one to the door, leaping to hug Tommy with her sister and knocking them both backward in excitement. The three tumbled off the porch into the grass as Mrs. Oliver came tearing outside followed closely by Jason and everyone else. _

"_Tommy!" Mrs. Oliver gasped in relief, running down the steps. _

_Tommy was untangling himself from the laughing and crying twins. But he'd barely gotten himself free of them when he was practically tackled by his mother. Mr. Oliver was right behind her, pulling both of them to their feet in a hug. Mr. and Mrs. Rocca watched with looks of relief and amazement on their faces as they stood on the porch. Trini was standing next to them, holding Mark as she smiled, tears of relief in her eyes. But Jason was down on the grass to grab Tommy in a hug the moment his parents eased up. _

"_Where have you been?" Jason finally demanded once the chaos had calmed down a bit. "Falcon, we've been looking for you for over twenty-four hours now!"_

_Tommy frowned, looking around. _

"_Well…" he said slowly. "I was on the island and then I was in Angel Grove. I promised Maddy I would come there first so I did, but no one was home so I came here."_

"_Tommy, how did you get off the island?" Jason asked._

_Everyone was waiting for the answer, Mrs. Oliver still clinging tightly to Tommy. Madison and Vida couldn't stand still, too excited to see Tommy alive. _

"_There was a boat," Tommy said, rubbing a hand across his forehead. "At least I think there was…I was in the water and then there was a boat…"_

"_What were you doing in the water?" Mr. Oliver frowned. "Didn't you evacuate with the other employees?"_

"_Evacuate?" Tommy repeated. "No. I had to go back and get Smitty. He wasn't on the dock. And then it was too late to go back and catch the boat."_

"_Then how did you get off the island before it exploded?" Vida asked. _

"_I didn't," Tommy answered._

_His mother gasped, gripping his arm tighter._

"_What?" Tommy said, looking around in confusion._

_Jason took a deep breath. _

"_Tommy, are you saying you were on the island when it exploded?" he asked through gritted teeth. _

_Tommy hesitated._

"_Kind of," he finally said. "Technically I jumped off a cliff right before—I think… Maybe I was blown off the cliff…It's a little fuzzy…"_

"_Thomas Oliver," Mrs. Oliver snapped. "Are you telling us you were blown off the island and the doctor let you leave on your own?"_

"_With a concussion…" Jason muttered._

"_What doctor?" Tommy frowned. "I don't need a doctor."_

"_Oh, that's good," Jason said. "Tommy, you need to go to the hospital."_

_Tommy looked at Jason in confusion. _

"_Jason, you know we don't go to hospitals," he said. "You're supposed to be on my side."_

"_Yeah, well, your side was just blown up and has a concussion," Jason retorted. "So your side gets out voted today."_

"_I'm fine," Tommy protested._

"_Oh, is that so?" Trini said, eying him. "Then what is your name?"_

"_Thomas Oliver," he responded immediately._

"_And what day is today?" she asked. _

_Tommy rolled his eyes._

"_Not a fair question," he said. "I can't remember that half the time anyways when I'm working on a project."_

"_Fine," Trini conceded. "What's your address?"_

_He rattled off the answer, smirking at her. She glared back. After asking him a few more basic questions, she sighed, seeming to give up. _

"_Alright, fine," she muttered. "So how did you get here?"_

"_I took a cab," he said, shrugging. _

"_And how did you pay?" she asked._

"_I have my wallet," he retorted, checking his pockets and pulling it out to show her. "See?"_

"_Ok," Trini said as he put it away. "Fair enough. Did you call Hayley?"_

_Tommy froze._

"_Umm… No," he said. "I should do that…"_

_Trini rolled her eyes. _

"_And, Tommy?" she said, watching him search his pockets for his phone._

"_Yeah?" he asked absently. _

"_What is my son's name?" she smirked._

_He looked up at her in surprise, not expecting the question._

"_Umm…" he said, fumbling for an answer. "I know this…I do. It's…ah…"_

"_That's it," Jason said, grabbing Tommy's arm. "Let's go."_

"_Where are we going?" Tommy asked, still searching for his phone. _

_Mrs. Oliver was still clinging to his arm as they headed to the cars. Mr. Oliver ran back inside to grab keys, as did Mr. Rocca. Jason was already pulling his out of his pocket. _

"_The hospital," Jason growled. _

_Trini followed them down to the vehicles as Jason towed the protesting Tommy. Madison and Vida walked with Trini._

"_So how did you get him to do that?" Vida asked. "He was fine until you asked him about Mark."_

_Trini shrugged as she opened the door to put Mark in his car seat._

"_I'm not going in to details," she said. "But Tommy has had some practice acting like he doesn't have a concussion. So he's really good at come backs for the basic questions, especially once he's on a role. I had to distract him and then catch him off guard with a question he should have been able to answer without hesitation. It's fairly effective—used it on Jason before, too."_

_The girls laughed. Jason had shoved Tommy in the other side of his car. Mrs. Oliver climbed in with him and trapped Tommy between her and the car door. Madison and Vida turned to get in their parents' car along with their parents and Mr. Oliver. Once everyone was in a vehicle, Jason took off toward the hospital and pulled out his phone._

"_Who are you calling?" Tommy asked suspiciously. _

"_Who do you think?" Jason retorted._

_Tommy groaned._

"_Don't call her," he grumbled. "She's just going to yell at me…"_

"_She's not the only one," Jason growled as Hayley answered. "Hey, Hayley. We found him—"_

_He jerked the phone away from his ear as she shouted._

"_Alright, alright," Jason muttered, passing the phone back to Tommy. "She wants to—talk—to you, bro."_

_Tommy took the phone reluctantly and spent the rest of the ride to the hospital trying to answer Hayley's questions. _

_As his dad parked the car in the driveway, Tommy reached for the handle of the door to let himself out._

"_You stay right where you are," Mrs. Oliver scolded, glaring back at him. "We will help you."_

_Groaning, Tommy let his head fall back against the seat. He'd spent all night at the hospital and had finally been released that morning. And his mother had been fussing non-stop and wouldn't let him do anything himself. As he waited rather impatiently for them to let him out of the car, he glanced around, frowning as he saw more cars than he should have. Including Jason's car._

"_Why is Jason here?" he asked when his dad opened the door._

"_Because he came back this morning to wait for you to get home," Mr. Oliver answered. "Trini and the rest of the Roccas are here, too."_

"_Oh, good," Tommy muttered as he climbed out. _

_Mrs. Oliver insisted that he be helped back into the house, despite his protests that he could walk just fine on his own. Still grumbling, Tommy didn't try arguing with her. Mrs. Rocca was waiting at the door, smiling as she reached out to hug Tommy._

"_You shouldn't worry us like that," she scolded gently, letting them move into the house._

"_Sorry…" Tommy sighed, running a hand through his hair. _

"_Everyone else is in the living room," Mrs. Rocca said, still smiling._

_Mrs. Oliver nodded and started shooing Tommy toward the living room. Mrs. Rocca headed the other direction, back toward the kitchen. She'd started making dinner while the Olivers were at the hospital with Tommy. Hearing them in the hallway, Madison and Vida came running out to meet them._

"_Tommy!" they exclaimed, beaming as they ran to greet him._

_They were careful not to knock into him like the day before, not wanting to knock him off of his feet. Hanging back a little, they waited hesitantly._

"_How are you feeling?" Madison asked as everyone kept moving back toward the living room._

"_Tired," Tommy yawned._

_Jason and Trini were in the living room waiting along with Mr. Rocca. Mark was lying on a blanket out of foot traffic space, Trini sitting on the floor next to him. Smiling when Tommy walked in, Trini hopped up and hurried over to give him a hug. _

"_You scared us, you idiot," she scolded, hugging him gently. "You're not supposed to do things like this to us."_

"_I'm sorry," Tommy murmured, hugging her back._

_The sound of the basement door opening drew Tommy's attention and he glanced to see who was coming up as Trini let go of him. It was Hayley._

"_Hayley, what were you doing in the basement?" Tommy asked suspiciously. _

"_Sabotaging your room," she smirked._

_Tommy groaned and turned to his mother._

"_Can I sleep in your room?" he asked._

_Mrs. Oliver hesitated, but Mr. Oliver immediately began shaking his head._

"_No," he said firmly. "He is a grown man and will sleep in his own room."_

_Tommy sighed, but didn't argue._

"_Then I'm sleeping on the couch," he muttered. _

_Walking over to the couch, he surprised everyone by just falling face first on to it and closing his eyes. Madison and Vida started snickering as Jason shook his head. Trini just rolled her eyes._

"_Tommy, wouldn't you be more comfortable in your bed?" Mrs. Oliver frowned. _

"_No," he mumbled. "Hayley was in there—she probably booby-trapped everything."_

_Hayley rolled her eyes. _

"_Oh, relax," she said. "I didn't do anything to your room."_

"_I don't care," he retorted. "I'm not moving. My legs and arms feel like they're on fire from swimming who knows how many miles and, on top of that, they woke me up every hour last night—I'm tired…"_

_Vida and Madison exchanged looks._

"_We are sorry, Tommy," Madison said. _

"_Yeah, I didn't mean to knock you off the porch," Vida added. "I guess I got a little carried away…"_

_Tommy turned his head and opened his eyes, frowning at them in confusion._

"_The doctor told me I was in the ocean," he said. "How did I get knocked off a porch?"_

_The girls blinked in surprise._

"_Because Vida came running out to hug you and had a little too much forward momentum," Madison said. "And I wasn't exactly helping by hanging on you…"_

"_No, no, no," Tommy said, shaking his head. "When was I even on the porch in the first place?"_

"_Tommy, that was yesterday," Mrs. Oliver said. "When you showed up here at the house."_

"_What are you talking about?" he asked, looking confused. "I thought I was in the ocean, not Angel Grove. I was under the impression that someone fished me out—though how I got there in the first place is a mystery to me—so how does the porch fit into this picture?"_

_Jason glared at Tommy, crossing his arms. _

"_You've got to be kidding," he said. "Tommy, you showed up yesterday on the porch out of nowhere—we were starting to think you were dead."_

"_But I was in the ocean," Tommy said. "How did I end up on the porch?"_

"_You said a fisherman picked you up and brought you into shore," Trini frowned. "Is that not true?"_

_Tommy shrugged._

"_I have no idea," he said. "But if it is, how did I end up here? This isn't anywhere near the ocean."_

"_You said you took a cab," Madison said, trying to be helpful._

"_I did?" he frowned. "But who paid?"_

"_You did, bro," Jason snorted. "Somehow you still had your wallet—you showed it to us yesterday."_

_Still frowning, Tommy groaned as he pushed himself up and started checking his pockets. He muttered to himself as he tried to find his wallet. _

"_You guys are crazy," he said. "I don't have my wallet in my pockets—and they didn't give me anything when I checked out at the hospital." _

"_That's because you gave it to me when I got there last night," Haley said, leaning on the couch and holding it out to him._

"_Oh," Tommy said, taking it and looking inside. "Aww man…"_

"_What's wrong?" Mrs. Oliver asked anxiously. _

"_I must've given the cab driver at least a hundred bucks," he sighed._

"_Mmm…I'd say about forty," Hayley corrected._

_Tommy whipped his head around in surprise. Hayley was smirking as she counted some cash. _

"_Hayley!" Tommy exclaimed, reaching out a hand. "That's mine!"_

"_Yes, it is," she said, raising an eyebrow. "But it's not like you need it right now—you won't be going anywhere for a couple of weeks at least."_

"_Wait—what?" Tommy said, frowning._

"_That's right," Mrs. Oliver agreed. "You'll be staying right here until you are completely recovered."_

"_Mom, I'm fine," Tommy insisted. "I just need a few—"_

"_You were nearly killed in an explosion, Tommy!" she cried. "You are not fine."_

"_What explosion?" Tommy said in confusion._

"_Your island exploded…" Vida said, exchanging a look with Madison. _

_Tommy started shaking his head, rubbing a hand over his face._

"_That's not possible," he said in disbelief. "If the island exploded how did I survive?"_

"_That's a good question, Falcon," Jason said, crossing his arms. "All we got out of you yesterday was you either jumped off or was blown off of a cliff into the ocean."_

"_Well, I guess that might explain a few things…" Tommy said slowly, frowning. _

"_Like what?" Jason said in exasperation._

"_Like the pain," Tommy retorted. "An explosion explains the pain."_

"_Ok, but what happened before the explosion?" Jason growled._

_Tommy shrugged._

"_I really don't know…" he said. "There're just snatches of weird things that don't make sense and then the pain. After that—nothing…"_

_Everyone in the room was silent for a moment._

"_Tommy," Jason said slowly. "What's the last thing you remember—before the hospital?"_

_Hesitating for a moment, Tommy thought about it._

"_The last thing I remember was Smitty calling to tell me Anton was missing," he finally said. "They couldn't find him anywhere and no one had seen him around…"_

"_Oh, great," Jason muttered. "So you've lost almost two days of memory."_

"_Two days?" Tommy frowned._

"_You were missing for over twenty-four hours!" Trini exclaimed. _

"_It was scary…" Madison said quietly. "We thought you were dead…"_

"_I'm sorry…" he sighed, running a hand through his hair._

_He paused._

"_Wait, what day is today?" he asked. "The date, I mean."_

"_It's the 8__th__," Mr. Oliver answered._

_Tommy grimaced. _

"_The call from Smitty was on the 3__rd__…" he said reluctantly._

"_Are you telling us you've lost nearly five days?" Jason exclaimed._

_Tommy shrugged._

"_I guess," he said. "Like I said—that call is the last thing I remember before the nurse was waking me up the first time in the hospital…"_

_Jason glared at him, but didn't push the issue any further. Tommy groaned, falling backward on the couch again. _

"_This is just great," he muttered. "I don't even remember finding Anton…"_

_The rest of the occupants of the room all exchanged glances, avoiding looking at Tommy. He caught the looks and sat up again._

"_We did find him, right?" he asked. _

_Jason took a deep breath._

"_Not exactly," he said slowly._

"_Jason, what does that mean?" Tommy asked, though he didn't look as though he really wanted to hear the answer. "Please."_

"_Tommy, I'm sorry," Jason sighed. "But, as far as we know, no one ever found Anton Mercer."_

_Tommy stared at him in shock for a moment._

"_So he's—" Tommy started to ask, cutting off mid-sentence and shaking his head._

"_No one is sure," Hayley said, putting a hand on his shoulder from behind the couch. "From all of the reports I've seen they weren't even sure if he was still on the island when it—well, when the accident occurred."_

"_But he hasn't come forward, has he?" Tommy said, running a hand through his hair. "If he was able, Anton would come forward to stop rumors. He wouldn't just let people think he was dead…"_

"_I'm sorry, man," Jason said quietly._

_Tommy just shook his head, looking down at the floor. _

"_I should call Smitty…" he muttered, though he didn't move from his spot. "Maybe he found proof Anton left the island—maybe there's a reason he hasn't contacted anyone…"_

"_Tommy…" Trini said hesitantly._

_When he looked up at her, she was shaking her head._

"_What?" he said._

_She hesitated, glancing around at everyone else. Mr. Oliver had an arm around Mrs. Oliver to keep her from hanging on Tommy right now. The girls had sat down in one of the arm chairs, crowded together as they looked down at their laps. Jason was trying not to meet Tommy's eye as Mr. Rocca shook his head from his chair. Hayley hadn't moved from her spot behind the couch, but, like everyone else, she was tense._

"_What is going on?" Tommy demanded, looking around. "I need to know."_

_Hayley took a deep breath, taking over for Trini who was at a loss for words._

"_Before the explosion most of the employees were evacuated and accounted for at a check-in point off the island," she explained. "However, after the explosion there were still three people unaccounted for…You, Anton, and—and Terrance Smith…"_

_Tommy flinched._

"_He never made it off the island…" Hayley said softly. _

_Leaning forward, Tommy buried his face in his hands, not saying a word. Hayley kept her hand on his shoulder. For a few moments everyone was quiet, letting Tommy absorb the news—news they'd been hoping not to tell him until a little later. But the front door opening and the sound of multiple voices broke the silence. Jason and Trini both spun to intercept the other rangers as they crowded into the room. Kim and Kat were in the lead with Justin. Not far behind were Zach and then Rocky, Aisha, Tanya, and Adam. The few who had been out of town had gotten in that morning, all of them desperate to see that Tommy was alive for themselves. But, surprisingly, they all stopped to talk to Jason first. Everyone wanted to know what had happened and soon a hushed conversation was flying back and forth amidst the close-knit group as they stepped back out into the hallway. While they were busy, Tommy stood abruptly and headed toward the basement door._

"_Where are you going?" Mrs. Oliver asked, frowning._

"_My bed," he muttered. "I don't care what Hayley did—I'm going to get some sleep. I'll deal with everything else later…"_

_Mrs. Oliver sighed, but didn't try and stop him._

"_I didn't do anything!" Hayley protested, glaring at him as he walked away._

_Tommy just waved a hand, disappearing down into the basement. A few minutes later Jason and the others came walking back in and looked around in surprise._

"_Where's Tommy?" Kim asked._

_The girls and Hayley looked at each other and then back at Kim._

"_He went to his room," they all answered together._

"_Oh…" Kim said, frowning. _

"_He was tired," Hayley added quickly, before Kim could decide to go after him. "But he'll be back up later."_

_Kim sighed, but nodded as the other rangers reluctantly did the same. Coming from the kitchen, Mrs. Rocca stopped in the doorway in surprise._

"_Well," she said. "I guess it's a good thing I made a lot of food…I was expecting a few of you, but not everyone all at once."_

_Jason snorted._

"_You should know better than that by now, mom," he said. "Most of us don't go anywhere alone."_

_She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything back. _

"_Oh!" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed suddenly. "Tommy needs to eat something—he hasn't eaten hardly anything all day."_

"_Umm…Mrs. Oliver, I don't think he wants to—" Jason started to say._

_But she was already opening the basement door and heading down the stairs._

"_There's no stopping her," Mr. Oliver shrugged. _

_A moment later they could hear shouting coming from the basement as Mrs. Oliver argued with Tommy about coming up for dinner. Sighing, Mr. Oliver turned and started to leave the room._

"_Where are you going?" Jason asked. _

"_To get my tools," he answered. "Because the only way my wife is going to stop yelling at him is to get him out of the room. And the only way to get him out right now is to take down the door…"_

_As Mr. Oliver continued out of the room, everyone else burst out laughing. _

_Tommy jerked awake with a start, bolting upright and panting as he looked around his dark bedroom. He'd been dreaming, but he couldn't remember what about. Someone had been screaming, though. Taking a shaky breath, he drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, resting his head in his arms. But then he heard a cry again. Scrambling out of bed, he stumbled toward the door. There was only a sheet there right now because his father had thought it best to leave the door down to appease his mother. Tommy hadn't bothered to argue. _

_It was dark in the family room, too, but he could hear movement over by the couch. Someone had pulled out the bed and was sleeping there. He was pretty sure it was Madison and Vida because he vaguely remembered that they fell asleep there watching a movie after dinner the night before. Everyone had stayed at the house late, wanting to talk to Tommy and they had been worn out from the long couple days of worrying. His mother had insisted they be allowed to sleep after the trauma of the last few days, so no one had woken them up. As he moved quietly toward the couch, one of the girls jerked upright, screaming and waking up her sister. _

"_Maddy, it's alright," Tommy said soothingly as he rounded the couch. "Everything is ok."_

_Her head whipped around and she looked at him in surprise. Vida seemed surprised to see him, too, blinking sleepily as she looked back and forth between him and her sister. Tommy sat down on the edge of the bed and held out his arms. Without hesitation, Madison hugged him, burying her face against his shirt as she took shaky breaths. _

"_What's going on?" he said, rubbing her back. "Nightmares?"_

_She nodded, not loosening her grip on him. She was shaking still. Vida had scooted closer, too, hugging her pillow as she leaned her head against her sister's shoulder. _

"_We've both had them…" Vida said quietly. "Since we found out that you might be—about the explosion…"_

"_Yeah, I know what those are like," he murmured. "But they'll go away. I promise."_

"_But I don't like them," Madison said, pulling back a little to look up at him. "And it's worse than real life because it isn't just you…It's you and mom and dad and Jason and Vida and—and I keep seeing everyone dying and it's worse than a couple of years ago when we all almost died because someone was there to save us. No one was there to save you…"_

_Tommy sighed._

"_Scoot over," he said to them._

_Madison and Vida shifted and Tommy moved further on to the bed, sitting between them so he could put an arm around both of them. He leaned back against the back of the couch._

"_I'm sorry I scared you," he said quietly as they leaned against him. _

"_It's not your fault," Vida said. "You didn't make the island explode."_

"_I know," he said. "But I still wish none of you had to go through that. It's not a good feeling thinking someone you love could be dead and there was nothing you could do to stop it. Jason and I felt the same way right after we found out about that big attack on Angel Grove."_

"_But I'll bet you didn't have nightmares," Vida grumbled._

_Tommy chuckled. _

"_Oh yes we did," he said. "Me and Jason both. We're just a little bit better at hiding them."_

"_I don't want to hide them," Madison sighed. "I want them to go away… How do I make them stop?"_

"_Unfortunately, you don't," Tommy said, shaking his head. "The bad things never seem to completely go away, no matter what you do…"_

_The girls both sighed. _

"_Why did the power rangers have to go away?" Vida muttered. "They could have come and saved you…"_

_Tommy paused, hesitating as he thought about his answer._

"_The power rangers didn't just go away," he said slowly. "Their enemy is gone and so is their reason to fight."_

"_But there are still people who need help," Madison said. "So why don't they help them?"_

"_Because they can't be there forever," Tommy said softly. "There will always be power rangers somewhere, but remember that they're people, too. They probably all have families and lives of their own that they're trying to live. The power rangers fought the battles we couldn't fight, so now we have to learn to save ourselves from the things that we can fight. And you both know Jason and I will do anything to keep you two safe."_

_The girls nodded._

"_How do you fight an explosion?" Vida frowned._

"_By running faster," Tommy retorted._

_Both girls giggled and Tommy laughed with them. _

"_But what if we really need them again?" Madison asked after a moment. "What if the bad guys come back? Or someone else comes?"_

_Tommy shrugged._

"_Then they'll come back," he said. "Or a new group of power rangers will take their place. That's what they're there for, isn't it?"_

"_To fight the battles we can't fight ourselves," Madison said softly, yawning as she repeated his earlier statement. _

_Both girls had relaxed as they talked with Tommy, getting sleepy again. _

"_Exactly," he said quietly. "There will always be rangers when we need them."_

_They nodded, yawning again as their heads nodded against him. But he didn't move, keeping an arm around each of them as they slowly drifted back off to sleep. Closing his eyes, he yawned himself as he settled back against the couch. Footsteps coming down the stairs caught his attention and he opened his eyes again._

"_Tommy?" Jason said quietly, walking over from the stairs. "What are you doing out here?"_

"_Maddy and V were having nightmares," Tommy answered quietly, trying not to wake them up. "What are you doing here?"_

"_I thought I heard screaming," he said. "But then it stopped. I couldn't fall right back asleep though, so I decided to come down and check on them—and you…"_

_Tommy sighed._

"_Jase, I meant what are you still doing at my house?" he said._

"_Oh, right," Jason said. "After the girls fell asleep and you went down to your room everyone else started leaving. But it took a while to get everyone out of the house. Since Mark was fast asleep your mom offered us the guest room. We still had an overnight bag in the car from the night before so we took her offer. We'll take the girls home tomorrow, too."_

_Yawning again, Tommy nodded. _

"_They were asking about the power rangers," Tommy said, watching for Jason's reaction._

_Jason frowned. _

"_What about them?" he said._

"_They wanted to know why the rangers didn't save me," he answered._

_Jason flinched._

"_I tried…" he said, taking a deep breath. "Every team and every route I could think of. I had everyone running in circles trying to find you…I even broke the rules and called Lightspeed even though they're still fighting!"_

"_Jason, you're fine," Tommy sighed. "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. The point is that they were asking me why the power rangers went away…"_

"_What did you tell them?" Jason asked._

"_That there will always be power rangers," Tommy said. _

_Jason chuckled._

"_For them, yes," he said. "There will always be power rangers to save them—whether they recognize them or not."_

_Tommy smiled as they both fell silent again._

"_So what really happened on that island, Falcon?" Jason asked a moment later. "Something doesn't seem right about it…"_

_Tommy just shook his head._

"_I have no idea," he said._

"_Tommy, you can drop the act," Jason said. "It's dark, but even I can tell they're fast asleep."_

"_It isn't an act, Rex," Tommy said. "I can't remember anything past that phone call from Smitty. I barely remember what happened in the hospital last night. It's gone."_

_Jason frowned, crossing his arms._

"_You're serious, aren't you?" he said._

"_Completely," Tommy sighed. "And I have the worst feeling that what happened was important, but I can't even begin to think of why or what it might be…"_

"_Could it be something ranger related?" Jason asked hesitantly. _

_Tommy frowned. _

"_I don't think so…" he said. "But I could be wrong…"_

"_Well, if you remember anything, call me," Jason said. "Got it? The moment you remember anything."_

"_I will call you the moment I remember anything," Tommy promised, yawning. "Now go away so I can sleep."_

_Jason raised an eyebrow._

"_Are you planning on staying there all night?" he asked._

"_I'm fine," Tommy said. "I don't want to wake them up. Apparently they need sleep, too, if they've been up the past two nights with nightmares…"_

"_Yeah," Jason sighed, shaking his head. "I was down here a couple of times that first night… Between them, Trini, and my own bad dreams there wasn't any sleeping..."_

"_Awww…. Jase, you do care," Tommy smirked._

"_Shut up, Falcon," Jason grumbled as he turned back toward the stairs. "Go to sleep."_

"_Night, Rex," Tommy yawned, closing his eyes again._

_He was asleep before Jason closed the door at the top of the stairs. _


	32. Chapter 32

Hayley sighed as she locked the door, flipping the sign to 'CLOSED' and juggling her phone and a wash rag. She was just finishing cleaning up the café, and really wishing she had an extra employee right now. Since Trent graduated, she just hadn't found anyone else who really fit—and that she trusted to close the shop alone.

"No, all of his injuries are fully healed," she was saying as she moved to finish wiping down the counter. "Though they would have been healed a month ago if he would have just worn one of his morphers…"

She muttered the last part, scrubbing hard at a sticky spot.

"_Well, he's better now," _Jason said. _"And that's more important than anything."_

"Physically, yes," Hayley said. "But he's still… well…"

She trailed off, sighing again.

"_Hayley, what's wrong?" _Jason asked in concern. _"Tommy is alright, isn't he?"_

"Yes, and no," she said. "He's—well, he's a little depressed…"

"_A little?" _Jason said doubtfully. _"Tommy generally is or he isn't."_

"Ok, he's a lot depressed," Hayley said shortly. "And it's driving me crazy. I've tried everything I can think of and I just can't snap him out of it."

"_Hayley, he's going to be fine," _Jason said. _"He's been through things like this before. He'll snap out of it—you'll see. Just give him some time."_

"But that's just it," she said. "I've given him time. And I've taken him out, gotten him to go to events, had people over—I even had the kids stay for a weekend when I was out of town! But none of it is working. He's not getting any better."

She sighed again, sitting down on one of the stools at the counter.

"If anything, he's just getting worse," she said quietly. "He does everything I ask him to, but it's like he's only doing it because I ask him. And if I don't have something for him to do, he just shuts himself in his office or down in the lab. He doesn't go anywhere anymore, Jason. And it's really starting to scare me…"

Jason sighed.

"_I don't know…" _he said reluctantly.

"That's not helpful," Hayley said. "You're his best friend and you were around through some of his worst times. I was hoping you'd at least have some ideas."

"_I'm thinking," _Jason said defensively. _"But he's not the same guy he was in high school. And I can't just make things better by letting him take something out on a monster—I got it!"_

Hayley took a deep breath.

"Jason, you two are not going to play power ranger again," she growled. "I am not approving that."

"_No, not that," _Jason said. _"I'm taking some of my students to a karate tournament this weekend. It would be perfect for Tommy. Karate always helped in high school—and that's the one thing that's helped consistently since then. It always helps break him out of a slump."_

"A tournament?" Hayley said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you really think that will help?"

"_Hey, it's worth a shot if he's as bad as you say," _Jason said.

"Alright, then let's try," Hayley agreed. "It can't hurt."

"_Great," _Jason said. _"I'll get him and I signed up for a team competition and he can also help me with my students. We'll just be entering for fun, so I'm not too worried about practicing—though I think we've fought together long enough to not worry about it too much anyways. But I'll take care of this end. You just make sure to get him here on Friday."_

"I will," Hayley promised. "And Jason?"

"_Yeah?" _he said, pausing before hanging up.

"Thank you," she said. "I know this is hard on you, too…"

He sighed.

"_I don't pretend to know what's going through their heads," _he said after a moment. _"But I know Tommy—he wouldn't have hurt them if he wasn't defending himself. And I'm not about to turn against him, even if they are my sisters, without hard proof that he's gone evil again. And even then… well, it would kill me to have to take him down. But that's not happening anytime soon and they're my problem to worry about, not his. We're going to make this better, Hayley."_

"One way or another," she agreed. "We'll see you Friday."

Hanging up the phone, Hayley quickly finished cleaning up. She wanted to get home and talk to Tommy—which probably meant prying him out of his office again. Sighing, she started moving faster so she could get home.

"I still don't know how you managed to get cable out here," Xander commented, shaking his head as he glanced at Chip. "But this is nice."

The five younger rangers were relaxing at Rootcore, enjoying an afternoon to themselves.

"Yep," Chip grinned, leaning back in his chair.

The three boys were now flipping through channels trying to decide what to watch while Vida was sorting through some music and Madison was reading.

"You three should be studying those spells Daggeron gave us," she said, glancing up from her book. "Aren't you supposed to have them ready for class tomorrow?"

"We've got them down," Xander said absently. "We practiced all morning while you were at the Rock Porium. Just ask V."

Vida snorted, not bothering to turn her attention from her CDs.

"Sure you did," she said. "And where exactly were you practicing at? Because I've been here all day and I didn't see anything."

"Don't worry, we've got it," Nick reassured her. "They're simple spells."

Vida just rolled her eyes. They'd finally settled on a channel and were watching with some interest. Madison was watching the TV, too, her book momentarily forgotten.

"Hey, sis?" Vida said after a moment. "Have you seen a phone number written anywhere? I thought this was the one Kira gave me, but I think I copied it wrong… It just tells me the number is no longer in service and I'm kind of hoping I wrote it down somewhere else, too."

Madison didn't immediately answer. Frowning, Vida looked up.

"Sis?" she repeated, looking at Madison. "Hello. Earth to Maddy."

Madison shook herself, taking her eyes off of the TV to look at her sister.

"Oh, umm… I don't know," she said quietly. "I'm sure it's there somewhere…"

Vida frowned. Madison, who had poking fun at the boys just a few minutes before, now sounded upset. But Vida couldn't immediately find a reason for it. Noticing Madison's gaze had returned to the TV, Vida looked to see what they were watching. It was a local karate tournament that was being televised. As she watched, two very familiar figures appeared on screen, getting ready to compete.

"Turn it off," she said stiffly, scooting closer to her sister.

"What?" Xander said in surprise, not having realized who they were looking at yet. "Why—"

"Just turn it off!" Vida snapped.

Frowning, Chip took a closer look at the TV. His eyes widened as he realized who the two men on the mat were and he quickly fumbled for his wand to turn it off. The other two had realized it, too, and were looking at the girls. Nick was shaking his head as he muttered to himself. Madison was staring down at the floor now, fidgeting with her pen, and Vida was clearly agitated.

"Sorry," Chip said. "Didn't know they'd be on there…"

"It's alright, Chip," Madison said softly, glancing up at him. "It's just—it's hard seeing them acting like everything is normal after everything that happened. I wish…"

She sighed, trailing off as she looked back down at her lap again. Vida put an arm around her sister, leaning against her and putting her head on Madison's shoulder.

"Jason will come around eventually," she said. "He has to. Jason may be an idiot sometimes, but he isn't completely stupid. We're going to find a way to break whatever hold Tommy has on him. We'll get our brother back."

Madison nodded.

"He's not the only one I wish we could save…" she sighed.

It was silent for a few minutes, as no one was really sure how to respond to that. Finally, Nick stood out of his chair.

"Let's get out of here," he said. "We need to feed Fireheart anyways. And I guess we could probably all use some practice… Want to help?"

Madison glanced up at him and then at her book, hesitating. But Vida hopped up and grabbed her twin's hand, pulling her up after.

"Come on, sis," she said. "You can study that later. Let's go show the boys just how magic is supposed to work."

Xander snorted, standing up.

"I could beat you any day," he said. "Earth beats air."

"Until I blow you away," Vida retorted.

"Bring it on," Xander taunted as they all started heading for the door.

"I'll just blind you both and then you won't be able to do anything," Chip threw in, laughing.

"How about I just set you all on fire?" Nick grinned.

"And then I'll just dump water over all of your heads and call it a day," Madison said, unable to help herself. "I'm sure you could all use a bath anyways."

The other four stopped to look at her in surprise, and then they burst out laughing.

"Now that's not nice," Xander said.

Madison laughed, too, and the four of them trooped outside to practice their skills.

"Play nice down there or you are all going to be in time out!" Trini called down the stairs. "That includes you, Conner!"

She stayed where she was for a moment at the top of the stairs. When no more screaming came floating up, she turned and walked back over to the couch, leaving the door open so they could listen. Squishing back into the chair next to Kim, she made herself comfortable again.

"So, how long do you think the quiet will last this time?" Aisha asked, looking over at Trini.

"Not nearly long enough," Trini sighed.

"But it's when they're quiet that they're most dangerous," Hayley commented absently, curled up in one of the other armchairs.

"You said it, girl," Aisha laughed, nodding in agreement. "I swear, the longer they're quiet, the more I stress out thinking they're doing something they shouldn't."

Everyone laughed, nodding in agreement. After finding out that a large portion of the tournament Jason and Tommy were going to that weekend was going to be televised, the rest of the group had decided to get together at Trini and Jason's house to watch. They had briefly considered going in person, but decided that with all of the kids they would be better off at home instead of trying to get babysitters for everyone on such short notice. So the adults were all crowded into the living room and the kids were playing in the basement with Conner and Ethan, who had volunteered to play with the kids. Kira and Trent were stretched out on the floor, watching the TV and waiting for Jason and Tommy to compete.

"Silence is only good when you know they're asleep," Tanya said. "And even then it can be deceiving. Trevor has learned to climb out of his crib…"

"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Adam sighed as a couple of others nodded in agreement.

The older rangers were all making the most of the limited seating in the living room. Trini and Kim, the most petite of the rangers, were squished into one of the armchairs together. Hayley had the second one and Kat had the third. Rocky, Aisha, Adam, and Tanya were crowded together on the couch. Zach had opted for the floor with Kira and Trent.

"There they are!" Kat exclaimed suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to the TV.

Tommy and Jason were indeed on screen, getting ready to compete. The group fell silent as they watched it begin. But it hadn't been going for long before all of them were shaking their heads.

"He's off…" Trent commented quietly. "Is his shoulder still bothering him?"

"No, it's not his shoulder," Hayley frowned, shaking her head. "That hasn't bothered him for weeks now. It's something else…"

They all watched in silence for a few more minutes.

"His heart isn't in it…" Trini said after a while. "Tommy loves karate, but… well…"

"He's not happy," Kim sighed. "It's like he's just going through the motions…"

Hayley sighed, nodding. Footsteps on the stairs announced Conner and Ethan. They came over, leaning against the back of the couch.

"Dr. O on yet?" Ethan asked, leaning forward for a better look.

"Conner, aren't you two supposed to be watching the kids?" Kat frowned, looking at the pair.

"We're playing hide'n'seek," he said, frowning at the TV. "They won't notice we're missing for at least five minutes. Is Dr. O alright? He seems off."

"It's not his shoulder, is it?" Ethan asked.

The others started shaking their heads.

"He's just not into it," Zach said. "And it shows—even the announcer has noticed."

The boys sighed.

"So it didn't work, then," Conner muttered, shaking his head. "Back to square one…"

Hayley took a deep breath, not taking her eyes off of the TV. None of them could. Everyone had seen Tommy and Jason fight before. They had always been equals in skill and equals in their passion. But now Jason seemed to be putting most of the effort in to the fight while Tommy just moved on autopilot.

"Man," Adam muttered. "Come on, Tommy, pull it together."

They were all watching the fight intently when Conner suddenly grunted, nearly falling forward over the couch. The kids, led by Mark, had come in search of their babysitters. Sneaking up the stairs, they had all charged Conner at once. Intent on the competition, he hadn't noticed them coming.

"Whoa!" Conner exclaimed, catching himself before he fell and landed on Adam and Tanya. "Are you guys trying to kill me?"

The kids giggled, grinning up at him. Replacing the serious look with a fake glare, he started stalking toward them.

"Alright," he growled. "That's it. I'm getting all of you."

Screaming and laughing, the kids ran for the stairs.

"Careful!" several of the mothers cried, watching as their boys ran down the steps.

"Don't worry, we got this," Ethan said with a grin.

He and Conner disappeared downstairs with the kids again. Turning back to the TV, the rangers saw the fight was over. Jason and Tommy had lost.

"They should have won that," Rocky said, shaking his head. "No problems."

The other rangers all murmured agreements. They all knew what the pair was capable of when they put their minds to it.

"I've got to snap him out of it," Hayley sighed. "Somehow…"

_**Two weeks later…**_

_Jason groaned as he fumbled for his phone. He answered it without looking at the number._

"_Hello?" he muttered._

"Bro, you're not going to believe this, but it just came back!" _a familiar voice exclaimed. _"Ok, well, it didn't just come back—I may have hit my head in the process—but the point is it all came back and you're never going to believe what happened."

"_What?" Jason said, frowning as he sat up a little more. _

"Are you awake at all?" _he got in answer. _"Or even listening to me?"

"_Tommy?" Jason asked. _

"Of course," _Tommy snorted. _"Who else would it be?"

_Jason stifled a yawn._

"_Bro, why are you calling?" he sighed. "And at—it's 2:39 in the morning!"_

_Trini stirred at Jason's exclamation, but didn't wake up. _

"You made me swear to call you the moment I remembered anything," _Tommy answered. _"So I'm calling you, and you're not going to believe this, cause it's crazy. I was chased across the island by a mutant dinosaur—his name is Mesogog—and he turned my projects against me. The tyrannodrones attacked me, which is how I got the bruises and stuff because I was trying to fight back and get away. They also blocked my way back to the ferry, so I had to jump off the back of the island as it exploded. Not really sure if he meant to blow up the island or if it was an accident, but he caused it either way."

"_What on earth are you talking about?" Jason exclaimed. "Tommy, what drugs are you on?"_

"I haven't taken anything," _Tommy protested. _"Although I think I'm going to take some aspirin for my head…It kind of hurts right now…"

_Jason took a deep breath._

"_Why does your head hurt?" he sighed. _

"I may have hit my head," _Tommy said. _"Which kind of sparked this whole thing… But it's true, I swear."

"_Tommy, you're talking about mutant dinosaurs," Jason said. "This isn't high school anymore."_

"No, it isn't," _Tommy agreed. _"But I've got three gems in a safe in my apartment that have something to do with—well, with one of our more secret pastimes from then."

_Jason frowned. Next to him, Trini stirred again and rolled over to look at him._

"_Why are you talking about dinosaurs?" she murmured sleepily._

"_It's Tommy," Jason said as an explanation. "Go back to sleep."_

_She sighed and rolled back over, pulling the blanket up higher. _

"_Anyways," Jason said, going back to Tommy. "Bro, you can't be serious. How hard did you hit your head?"_

"It wasn't that hard," _Tommy protested. _"I'm not even—ok, I'm bleeding a little. But it's not that bad!"

_Jason groaned, shaking his head as he rubbed a hand over his face. _

"_How did you even hit your head?" he sighed, shoving the blankets back and swinging his feet around to the ground. _

"There was a plastic bag on the stairs," _Tommy said. _"It really shouldn't have even been there, but I stepped on it and slipped and cracked my head on a stair as I fell down them…But I'm fine. And when I sat up at the bottom of the stairs I remembered what happened so I took my phone out and called you."

"_And started rambling nonsense about mutant dinosaurs," Jason muttered. "And with that knock to your head I'm really starting to think you're hallucinating."_

"It's not nonsense!" _he retorted. _"It actually happened—not a hallucination."

"_Mmm hmm… Sure," Jason said doubtfully, standing. _

"_Jason, what is going on?" Trini asked, rolling over again and frowning at him. "Where are you going?"_

"_I'm going to Tommy's," he said, heading to change with the phone still in hand. "The idiot fell down the stairs, hit his head, and is hallucinating—Wait a minute. Tommy, you live in an apartment. You don't have stairs."_

_Trini sat up in surprise._

"Jase, I live on the second floor," _Tommy said slowly. _"Most apartments are designed to have stairs that get you up there."

"_Yeah, but they aren't in your apartment," Jason retorted. "What were you doing on the stairs?"_

"I was going down to the vending machine in the lobby," _he said. _"I was hungry."

"_At 2:30 in the morning?" Jason said, raising an eyebrow. _

"Oh, come on Rex," _Tommy sighed. _"You know how my metabolism works… There was a reason I was so skinny in high school no matter how much I worked out. This medication they've got me on just makes it worse. You know, I really should just stop taking it. I don't really need it and it's not like my mom is here watching anymore and I was really only taking it because she wanted me to—"

"_Why didn't you go to your kitchen?" Jason interrupted. "Wouldn't that have been easier than leaving the apartment?"_

_Trini was sitting up, watching Jason as she listened to his half of the conversation. She was shaking her head at what she was hearing. _

"There's nothing to eat in the kitchen," _Tommy sighed. _"Hayley and I are going grocery shopping tomorrow. Ate all her food, too…"

_Jason rolled his eyes as he pulled out a pair of socks. _

"_Oh, I'm sure she loved that," he muttered. "You just got back to your apartment two days ago and you're already out of food."_

"Yeah, well, it's not like I had a whole lot in the apartment to begin with," _Tommy said. _"At least not since I started working on the island…I wasn't home that much."

"_Uh-huh," Jason said. "Well, whatever made you go down the stairs, I want you to stay right there until Hayley or I get to you. Where is Hayley?"_

"Sleeping," _Tommy said. _"And I'm fine, Jase. I don't need you to come over."

"_Tommy, you're delusional," Jason said. "Talking about mutant dinosaurs after hitting your head is not normal."_

"I'm telling the truth, Rex!" _Tommy exclaimed in protest. _"And you can't say that anyways. Rocky hit his head plenty of times in high school and you never thought he was insane. I can make it back up to my apartment just fine. But first I'm going to the vending machine."

"_Tommy, stay put!" Jason growled, heading toward the door. "Trini, call Hayley and tell her Tommy fell down the stairs."_

"I'm up, Jase," _Tommy sighed. _"And look, I'm walking—whoops. Ok. A little unsteady, but I walking to the vending machine now."

"_Tommy!" Jason hissed, shutting the door behind him as Trini dialed the phone. "Sit down!"_

_He was trying to be quiet in the hallway, not wanting to wake up the baby in the room across the hall. _

"Not happening, bro," _Tommy said. _"I'm getting my snack and then I'm going back up to my apartment."

_Jason heard light thud in the background—Tommy was at the vending machine and getting his snack. _

"_I'm gonna kill you, Falcon," Jason snapped. "Would you sit down before you hurt yourself? You probably have a concussion again."_

"Nope, no concussion," _Tommy mumbled, sounding like he was already eating. _"Going back to my apartment now. See you when you get here."

"_Tommy!" Jason exclaimed. "Don't you dare hang up on me!"_

"Sorry, what?" _Tommy said loudly, acting as though he couldn't hear Jason. _"Going into the stairwell—service… out…can't… you…"

_He was making crackling noises with the packaging of his snack as he spoke, pretending there was static._

"_Tommy!" Jason said. "Don't you dare hang up on me!"_

_But Tommy had already hung up. Muttering to himself, Jason stuck his phone in his pocket and put on his shoes. By the time he got to Tommy's apartment, Tommy was already inside. Hayley had cleaned up the cut on his head, and was scolding him about hurting himself again._

"_Hey, Jase," Tommy grinned, looking up as he walked in the door. "What took you so long?"_

_Jason glared at him._

"_I don't live down the street anymore, Tommy," he growled. "Now let's go."_

"_Go where?" Tommy frowned._

"_E.R," Jason said, crossing his arms. "You're getting your head looked at."_

_Hayley smirked as Tommy looked at Jason in surprise._

"_Jase, I don't need to go to the E.R.!" Tommy protested. "Hayley, tell him I don't need to go to the E.R."_

_She looked at Tommy, raising an eyebrow. _

"_Why?" she said, crossing her arms, too. _

"_Hayley!" he exclaimed in surprise as Jason grinned. "You're supposed to be on my side!"_

"_Since when?" she asked. "That is not in our friendship contract."_

_Jason snorted, shaking his head. But Tommy frowned._

"_I could have sworn it was," Tommy said. "Section B. I'm sure it's in Section B."_

_Now it was Jason's turn to look surprised._

"_Wait, you two actually have a friendship contract?" he asked._

"_We have an odd relationship," Tommy said quickly without looking at Jason. "Hayley, go on. Pull out Section B. It's gotta be there."_

_She smirked._

"_It's not anymore," she said. "I took it out on my last revision. Didn't you read the whole thing before you signed?"_

_Tommy sputtered in protest as Jason growled._

"_I don't care if it is or isn't in your contract," he said. "Get in the car, Tommy. Now."_

_With Hayley's help, Jason coerced a protesting Tommy into his car and they headed off to the hospital for a late night E.R. visit. _


	33. Chapter 33

"Mom!" Nick shouted, falling to his knees. "No!"

The other rangers were right behind him, diving for the place where Udonna had been in the futile hope of following. But it was too late—she was gone. Now it was just them and Black Lance.

"Your sorceress is gone, and now it's your turn," Black Lance scoffed, towering over them.

Since the Master's possession of Matoombo and his return, things had just been getting worse and worse for the Mystic Force rangers. They had stepped up their training, constantly in a state of alert as they waited for the Master to make his next move. And it had been one they hadn't expected. First he had possessed Nick, turning him against the citizens of the magical realm, his team, and even setting him against his own father. As a new incarnation of Koragg, Nick had nearly killed Leanbow. But Leanbow had broken through to his son, helping him throw off the Master's control.

Then the Master retaliated, invading the palace of Mystic Mother, the empress of all good magic, and destroying her palace—and her. After receiving news of the attack, Daggeron and Leanbow had left to see if they could still save Mystic Mother, leaving Jenji with Nick and Nick in charge. And things had continued to spiral out of control. Responding to an alert from the others, Nick had joined them in battle against Black Lance. Udonna joined in the fight as well, taking on Sculpin alone as the rangers fought Black Lance in zord form. Black Lance overpowered them, knocking them out of form and sending them to the ground. And now Udonna had fallen and had been taken into the dark realm by Sculpin, leaving the rangers to face Black Lance alone.

"Now you will fall, just as your mother has," Black Lance laughed, advancing toward the rangers.

Nick stood up slowly, his gaze fixed on Black Lance.

"Now you've made me mad," Nick growled.

Stepping forward, he morphed as he moved to meet Black Lance. The other four rangers watched, waiting as Nick took on his opponent.

"Come on!" Black Lance shouted, holding his sword and shield at the ready.

"You're going down!" Nick cried, charging him.

Taking Black Lance by surprise, Nick landed a hard blow to his enemy's shield, shattering it into pieces.

"My shield!" Black Lance exclaimed in shock.

"Fire Heart!" Nick called.

The dragon soared down out of the sky, knocking Black Lance off of his feet.

"Good boy, Fire Heart!" Nick praised as the dragon landed behind him.

"Your dragon will not save you this time!" Black Lance snarled, getting back to his feet.

Black Lance sent a spell flying toward Nick. But Fireheart wrapped his wings around the red ranger, protecting him from the blast, and the pair morphed into their fused ranger form. Combined with Fireheart, Nick attacked Black Lance once more. Now it was Nick who held the upper hand, his stronger magic, determination, and anger giving him the power to overcome his opponent. Knocking Black Lance to the ground, Nick separated from Fireheart and stood waiting for the enemy to climb to his feet.

"Bullseye!" Nick said. "You guys want in on this?"

The other four leapt to their feet, running to stand behind their red.

"Gladly," Xander said.

"Uh huh," said Madison.

"Yeah," exclaimed Chip.

"Yeah!" Vida agreed.

"Ready!" Madison said, glancing at the other three.

"Ready!" Chip, Vida, and Xander answered.

"Magical source, mystic force!" the four rangers called.

Now morphed, they joined Nick in the fight. All five of them attacked. Madison hit first, knocking Black Lance back with a blast of water.

"Magi staff!" Xander and Vida exclaimed, taking the next hit.

"Thanks for joining the party!" Nick said as they fell in next to him.

"Mystic spell seal!" they shouted, attacking together. "Yeah!"

Black Lance fell, destroyed by their combined powers. But the fight wasn't over yet. A new opponent appeared in the sky, drawing all eyes to him.

"What's that?" Nick asked in shock.

"It's him!" Vida cried. "The Master!"

Floating in the sky, the Master laughed as he loomed over them.

"Where's Daggeron and my father?" Nick demanded.

"Right here!" the Master said.

There was a flash of light and a body appeared, falling to the ground. It was Daggeron.

"Oh no!" Nick shouted.

"Daggeron!" Madison cried, scrambling toward him. "Daggeron!"

Their teacher, the one who had worked so hard to train them, didn't respond.

"And Leanbow!" the Master laughed as a second body appeared, falling in the same manner.

"Dad!" Nick shouted.

He stumbled a few steps toward his father's body, shaking his head in shock. Behind him, Vida fell to her knees, staring at Leanbow. Xander knelt next to her, a hand on her shoulder, as Chip stumbled after Nick.

"This can't be…" Nick muttered. "All we've done was in vain…all this time… finding my dad…"

Stumbling the rest of the way to Leanbow, Nick fell to his knees next to his father and bowed his head over him. Putting his arms around him, Nick pulled Leanbow's body close.

"Nothing can stop me from bringing darkness and despair to this world!" the Master exclaimed.

"What can you possibly gain by destroying our whole world?" Xander demanded, whipping around to face the Master again.

"Your world is now my world!" the Master responded, whips of power reaching out to wrap around each of the rangers and pull them closer. "You want to see what my world will look like?"

Unable to break free of the Master's hold, the five young rangers were pulled into his illusion of a changed world. All light disappeared, the landscape shifting around them as the world rocked in turmoil.

"It looks so dark!" Madison said, looking around.

"This is the future of your world," the Master told them, throwing them to the ground. "There is no purpose for your species. Once I eat your magic, you will become a part of the dust that I will walk upon. That will be your one and only purpose."

The rangers stumbled to their feet as he spoke, not quite ready to give up the fight.

"We're not done!" Nick snapped back. "You haven't defeated us yet."

"Legend warriors!" the rangers cried, amping up their power and shifting into zord form.

"Yes," the Master said eagerly. "More power for me to eat."

"Come on, rangers," Nick said. "We've gotta hit him with all of our magic!"

Preparing themselves, they attacked the Master.

"Legend striker, spin attack!" they shouted.

The attack struck home, but instead of hurting the Master, he simply ate the power of the attack and absorbed it.

"Huh!" Nick exclaimed in complete shock.

"Impossible!" Xander cried. "He consumed our spell like it was nothing!"

"You are nothing!" the Master laughed, attacking back. "It is now over! The hopelessness and fear I feel inside of you makes your power even more tender to dine on."

The zord fell as the Master ate more of their power, absorbing it into himself.

"Our magic—I can feel him taking it," Xander gasped.

Losing the magic to sustain the form, the rangers fell to the ground, their combined form lost.

"Come on!" Xander exclaimed as they scrambled to their feet.

Looking to regroup, the rangers darted into a nearby cave to catch their breath. Inside they stopped, panting as they tried to pull themselves together.

"Alright. We're safe," Chip panted.

"Safe?" Nick scoffed, shaking his head as he leaned on his knees. "Are you kidding me? That thing just destroyed our zord, not to mention Daggeron and my dad."

He straightened up, not looking at the others.

"So that's it?" Vida said, straightening up herself as she stared at him in shock and frustration. "The great Nick, the red ranger, is calling it quits?"

Nick shrugged and turned, starting to walk away, still panting.

"Whoa, whoa. No," Xander said, putting himself in front of Nick. "Don't walk away. Answer her. Are you giving up?"

"Get out of my way," Nick growled, trying to avoid Xander's gaze.

"No, Nick," Chip said firmly. "You answer that."

"Guys, wake up and smell the darkness!" Nick shouted, gesturing around him as he finally turned to look at them. "We've done our best, and we failed. We're no match for that thing."

He paused, shaking his head as he turned away again.

"Fine," he admitted. "Yes. I've given up."

Madison, who had been watching quietly, finally stepped up.

"Don't you say that," she ordered, catching the others by surprise. "Don't you say that. Not you. You have held us together through all of this! You will not give up!"

Nick tried walking away again, but she stopped him.

"Listen to me!" Madison demanded, pulling him back around to face her. "Giving up is not an option for you! We are a team and you are this team's leader! We go on, no matter what."

For a moment they just looked at each other, all of the rangers waiting for Nick to answer. But before he could say anything, a burst of dark magic blasted through the cave and knocked them all off of their feet.

"It is time to finish this meal," the Master said, laughing as he appeared over them as they lay groaning on the ground in pain. "Welcome to your end."

For a moment, none of them moved as the Master laughed in triumph. The attack had stunned and injured them. Finally, Nick moved, shoving himself upward.

"Not here. Not now!" Nick snarled, climbing to his feet. "This is not our end."

"You are only one," the Master laughed.

"And, unfortunately for you, the wrong one," Nick snapped back, his sword and staff appearing in his hands. "I call forth the powers of good magic still left in the world! Of all the good magic still left in my body—come to me now! Magical source, mystic force!"

He morphed again, finally summoning the energy.

"The Light will be most delectable," the Master said gleefully, attacking Nick with his tentacles.

But Nick fought back, no longer ready to give in. Striking the Master hard, he shattered the armor protecting the Master's head.

"No, my armor!" the Master cried in shock, falling back a ways.

Nick didn't let up, striking another hard blow.

"Return us now!" Nick demanded as his attack started to shatter the Master's spell.

He reached back to his teammates.

"Take my hand!" he ordered. "Quickly! Hold on!"

"Yeah!" Chip grinned as they all head tightly.

"Okay!" Madison exclaimed.

"It's working!" Nick said.

The Master's illusion shattered, bringing them all back to their world.

"We're back!" said Chip as they hit the ground.

They were no longer morphed, their magic spent.

"Yeah, but now our magic is gone for good," Nick said grimly.

Footsteps caught their attention and they all groaned as they pushed themselves to their feet. The Master was coming again.

"Look what you've done to me," the Master cried. "You will pay for this!"

He shot out his tentacles to attack and destroy the defenseless rangers. All of them flinched as they waited for the attack to strike, putting their arms up in futile defense. But the attack failed, freezing before it reached them.

"What?" the Master exclaimed in shock.

Snow Prince and Clare appeared between the Master and the rangers, facing down the enemy together.

"Snow Prince?" Vida said in surprise.

The all scrambled to their feet, running to their friends.

"Clare! You have powers!" Nick exclaimed, skidding to a stop next to her.

"Yes," she smiled in delight. "Mystic Mother made me a full sorceress!"

The rangers all smiled, happy for Clare.

"Liar!" the Master snarled, interrupting their brief moment of happiness. "I destroyed the Mystic Mother!"

"No!" Snow Prince countered. "Just before you attacked Mystic Mother, she cast a spell and turned herself into energy."

"That's why I'm Mystic Mother," Mystic Mother's voice echoed in laughter around them. "Did you really think you had me? Sorry to disappoint!"

"A few magic tricks will not stop me!" the Master roared. "I will return to the depths and gather my strength."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Udonna interrupted, walking out to join them.

"Udonna!" Chip exclaimed in surprise as they all turned to see her.

"It seems your pit no longer exists," Udonna said, facing down the Master.

"No longer exists?" the Master said in shock.

"What she means is that you no longer have a place to dwell in your darkness," Itassis clarified smugly, stepping up next to Udonna along with Necrolai.

"Itassis!" the Master exclaimed. "You're alive! Where is Sculpin?"

"He is no more," she answered.

"What?" he cried. "But I am your master!"

"Well, this puppet has cut the strings," she retorted, sending a blast of magic at him.

The Master roared in pain, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. Itassis turned back to the rangers. For a moment, the rangers cheered, celebrating. Udonna rushed to Nick and mother and son hugged each other tightly. Tears slid down Udonna's face as she held her son, mourning the loss of her husband and friend.

"The master has gone for now, but he will be back," Itassis said, tilting her head in surprise as she looked at Udonna. "Tell me, white ranger, why do you shed tears?"

Still keeping an arm around Nick, Udonna looked over her shoulder at Itassis. The cheering around them had stopped as the rangers remembered their fallen.

"The tears are for our sadness and for our losses," Udonna said sadly. "I cry for my husband—Leanbow—and Daggeron."

"That is something that I cannot help you with," Itassis said slowly.

"My mom can," Leelee inserted quickly, surprising everyone.

No one had seen her join them

"Leelee!" Necrolai exclaimed.

"You can do anything you want, mom," Leelee said firmly. "Always could."

Necrolai hesitated, still unsure.

"Do it, mom!" Leelee said again. "I believe in you."

Necrolai still hesitated, thinking.

"Alright," Necrolai relented. "I will try to revive them."

Stepping forward, Necrolai concentrated her vampire magic as she tried to revive the two fallen knights. There was a final burst of magic and Necrolai collapsed to the ground.

"Mom?" Leelee cried, running to her mother.

Groaning and movement drew the attention of the rangers. Slowly, Leanbow and Daggeron moved and climbed to their feet. The other rangers watched in happy surprise as their fallen teammates stood once more. Relieved to see his father alive, Nick ran to meet him.

"Son!" Leanbow said, hugging Nick back as the young ranger threw his arms around him.

"Dad," Nick said in relief, just happy that he was alive.

"Daggeron!" Madison cried, reaching out to hug him as he joined the group.

Everyone was laughing and crying in delight now, overjoyed to have Leanbow and Daggeron back.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" said Jenji, reappearing.

"Jenji!" Xander exclaimed in excitement.

Laughing, Madison let go of Daggeron and turned to smile at Jenji.

"Great to have you back, teach," Chip said to Daggeron.

"Glad to be back," Daggeron said as they exchanged a hug, clapping each other on the back.

"Look at me! I'm back!" Jenji laughed, bouncing around.

Nick and Leanbow were still hugging, the younger ranger now reluctant to let go of his father. Leanbow looked over Nick's shoulder at Udonna, who was smiling as she watched them together. He held out a hand to her and she joined in the hug, the three of them clinging to each other.

"Mom?" Leelee said desperately, staring at her mother on the ground

All of the rangers turned to see what was happening, realizing that not everything was happy at the moment. Electricity crackled as Necrolai lay on the ground, trying to get back to her feet. But she could barely move. Leelee hesitantly reached down toward her mother, but jumped back in surprise when there was a sudden burst of magic and flash of light. When the light cleared, Necrolai slowly climbed to her feet and turned around. Gone was the vampire. Now Necrolai stood before them fully human. She held out her arms to her daughter, who ran to her laughing and crying to hug her mom.

"Leelee's mom is hot," Xander grinned as the others laughed, nodding in agreement.

A roar interrupted their celebration, shaking the ground as the Master reappeared.

"Quite the reunion," the Master interrupted. "Sorry I have to destroy it."

"Rangers, our magic is gone," Udonna said as they all faced the Master.

"I've got an idea!" Jenji said. "Let's all run, okay?"

"I'm through running," Nick said determinedly, looking around at his teammates and friends. "I've found my real family. I've found my home. No more running."

He stepped forward to stand against the Master.

"Stay and fight!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah!" the others agreed, running to stand with him.

"We fight!" Vida shouted, fists clenched as she glared at the Master.

"So be it," the Master growled, towering over them. "You are powerless now! My victory is already in hand!"

"We will show the Master what real courage is, even without magic," Nick said, not backing down.

"Without magic, mystic ones?" Mystic Mother's voice echoed around them. "You are never without magic. You just have to know where to find it."

"Never without magic?" Madison frowned, looking around in confusion. "What does she mean by that?"

"Maybe she meant us!" Toby exclaimed from their left.

"Or maybe she meant us!" Phineas said from their right.

Toby and Phineas were each followed by a group of people from the town and the forest, respectively.

"Look, I spoke to some of the people from the city and I told them that the forest, and those that live there, are not the ones for us to fear," Toby explained.

"And I spoke the same truth to those in the forest," Phineas added. "Either we stay the way we were and perish, or we stand together and fight the real evil!"

The townspeople and the forest folk cheered in agreement, ready to stand together.

"Power rangers," Toby said. "You have fought all year for us. Your magic is used up. Well, now let us give you some of our magic."

The rangers smiled in surprise. They had not expected this.

"That's right! You're not the only ones," Phineas agreed as the two groups moved forward. "All of us believe in magic. Thanks to you."

The townspeople and the forest folk joined hands around the rangers, Toby and Phineas meeting in front of Nick.

"That's right!" said Toby.

"Let's show him!" said Phineas.

All of them lifted their hands, holding tightly to each other.

"Together!" Toby said.

"Together! We believe in magic!" the crowd exclaimed.

Magic flowed from the people, converging on the rangers. As the initial flow ebbed, the citizens quickly stepped out of the way, still cheering for their protectors. The rangers now stood morphed and ready to fight the Master to the finish.

"Wolf Warrior!"

"Solaris Knight!"

"White Mystic Ranger!"

"Green Mystic Ranger!"

"Pink Mystic Ranger!"

"Blue Mystic Ranger!"

"Yellow Mystic Ranger!"

"Red Mystic Ranger!"

"We call forth the magic, together as one, united for all time!" the rangers cried, standing together. "Power rangers, Mystic Force!"

"Give me that magic!" the Master roared.

"You got it!" they responded.

Together, the rangers sent a stream of magic at the Master, not wavering in strength as it struck him straight on.

"I devour it, yet still it comes!" the Master cried, trying to devour their attack.

"Guys, it's working!" Xander exclaimed.

The Master was beginning to struggle as the good magic started to become too much for him.

"Keep going!" Nick said. "There is no end to our magic!"

"Stop! It's too much!" the Master cried again.

"Full power!" the rangers responded, throwing even more power at him.

"I cannot take anymore!" screamed the Master. "I have devoured all I can! Agh!"

In a burst of light, the Master disappeared. He was gone, finished by the power of the rangers and the magic of the people they were sworn to protect.

"Mystic Force!" shouted the rangers in triump.

Everyone started laughing and cheering, turning to one another in celebration.

"And so darkness was destroyed by light, and, should it ever return, your magic must stop it," Mystic Mother's voice echoed around them one more time.

The cheering and applause got even louder as the rangers reappeared, no longer morphed, to join the citizens in celebration.

"You're leaving," Madison said quietly, walking up to where Nick was crouched by his bike.

It had been a few day since they defeated the Master and things were well on their way back to normal again as everyone worked together to rebuild the two realms—well as normal as it would ever be again. Nick glanced up from what he was doing to look at Madison.

"Yeah," Nick said, standing up. "I'm going to see my adoptive parents. There's a lot to tell them."

"So, you're not coming back?" she said, clearly disappointed.

"I didn't say that," Nick said.

"You are coming back?" Madison asked, brightening up a little.

"Uh… what I'm saying is that uh… I'd like to come back if there was something or someone to come back for," he said, stumbling a little over his words.

"Well, there is," Madison said quickly, smiling as he continued to get his stuff together. "There's Xander, Vida, Chip, umm… Toby, Phineas, Leelee, and umm…"

She hesitated, looking at him.

"And me," she said in a rush. "I—I want you to come back for me."

Nick smiled, turning around to pick something up.

"Will you hold on to this?" he asked, handing her his blanket.

"Sure," Madison smiled brightly, taking it.

Nick grinned, climbing on his motorcycle. He paused for another moment and then took off down the street. Madison watched him go, holding the blanket tightly.

"He'll be back," she said confidently before heading back inside.

Inside the Rock Porium, it was extremely crowded. There were people everywhere. On one side of the room, Chip was sharing stories about some of his exploits as a ranger with an eager crowd.

"There I was, face to face with Necrolai herself," Chip said dramatically. "She cowered."

"Oh, really?" Necrolai interrupted. "Cowered?"

"Well, maybe not cowered, but she trembled," Chip said quickly.

"Trembled?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh… broke a sweat?" Chip tried.

"Vampires do not sweat, they glow," Necrolai scoffed.

"Hey, Nikki," Toby said, joining them. "Uh, we better get to the movies. They start in ten."

"Okay," she smiled.

"She was sweating," Chip said quietly as she walked away.

A short ways away, Leelee and Phineas were talking.

"Who would have thought this a few months ago?" Leelee smiled, looking around. "I'm living in the city with my mom in our new condo. I'm dating a troblin hunk muffin and she's dating the owner of a record store. How cool is our life?"

"And I got my job back," Phineas grinned as she turned to look at him. "Hug?"

"Hug," she beamed, leaping into his arms.

Xander walked, past them, showing a new employee around.

"So, we have CDs in front, DVDs in the middle, and the vinyl up the back," Xander explained to the new employee. "You got that?"

"Ok, sure," the employee responded.

Xander grinned, patting him on the back and sending him on his way.

"Playing manager," Xander grinned. "Gotta love it."

Up at the DJ tables, Vida was enjoying herself with Matoombo. After the Master's destruction, the rangers, especially Vida, had been delighted to find that their friend had been restored to himself. Vida had been spending a lot of time with him and Matoombo had been thrilled to find he still had friends in the rangers. The pink ranger had also done something that surprise all of them, especially her twin—she'd died her whole head pink.

"Go Vida!" Motoombo laughed.

"Now, just let the music move through you and your hands do the rest," Vida directed, beaming as she showed him how to run the tables.

"Like this?" Motoomba asked.

"That's it!" Vida exclaimed. "Now, turn to the audience, and shake your booty!"

"Oh yeah!" Motoomba said.

Madison walked up to watch her sister, laughing as her twin danced with the tall Matoombo. Turning, Vida saw Madison and smiled as she kept dancing. Smiling back, Madison held up the blanket and shrugged. Vida's smiled widened in delight, recognizing the blanket and what it meant. Laughing, Madison joined in the dancing as everyone celebrated their victory.


	34. Chapter 34

_**Christmas with the Twins**_

"_Now?" Mark asked, looking up at Jason._

_Jason sighed, shaking his head as he reached down to pick up the toddler. Mark, almost three, had been asking the same question every five minutes for the past few hours. They were running out of things to distract him with._

"_Not yet, bud," Jason said, setting him on his lap. "We have to wait for Aunt Maddy and Aunt V to wake up, remember? They want to see you open presents, too."_

_Mark frowned, his small forehead wrinkling in displeasure as he wiggled on his father's lap. Tired from the long night before with family and friends, Mark had actually slept in to a decent hour. But it was now past nine in the morning and they had yet to see any sign of the twins. Trini was in the kitchen talking with Mrs. Rocca while Mr. Rocca had been helping Jason with entertaining Mark. But the little boy wanted to play with the prettily wrapped items below the tree. _

"_Take fowever…" Mark complained, pouting. "Want pwesents…"_

_Jason took a deep breath, glancing at the clock again._

"_Alright," he relented. "Tell you what. Why don't you go wake them up?"_

_Mark's eyes lit up as he twisted in Jason's lap to look at him._

"_Wake up?" he repeated._

_Jason nodded. _

"_Yep," he said. "Go ahead. Cause if we don't wake them up, they aren't coming down for hours—they're teenage girls…"_

_Grinning, Mark slid off of Jason's lap and darted for the stairs. Mr. Rocca chuckled, shaking his head as Jason followed the little boy up to Vida's room. With Jason and Trini staying over for Christmas, there wasn't quite enough space for the girls to stay each stay in their own rooms. Jason and Trini were sleeping in Jason's old room, but the bed really wasn't big enough to be comfortable for them and Mark. So Madison was letting Mark sleep in her bed while she shared with Vida. Upstairs, Mark ran straight for Vida's room and reached for the handle. He managed to get it open and push the door before Jason caught up, so Jason just let him go ahead. He paused in the doorway, watching as Mark leapt onto the bed and tackled both of the girls._

"_Ooph!" one of them exclaimed, the voice muffled by blankets and pillows. _

"_Ouch!" said the other. _

_Giggling, Mark continued to bounce on the bed as Jason watched in amusement. _

"_Pwesents!" he demanded. "Time to up. Open!"_

"_Mark, we're sleeping," Vida muttered, her head partially emerging from under her blankets to look at her nephew. "We can open presents later."_

"_Now," he said, trying to pull away the blanket._

_His small hands couldn't get a grip on it, however, and it remained firmly over Vida. Madison shifted to look at him, yawning._

"_Mark, go wake up your dad," she said. "He can play with you until we come down."_

_Jason snorted, walking toward the bed._

"_I've been up," he said. "For two hours. It's after nine now and Mark wants to open presents. I can only distract him for so long."_

"_Fine," Vida muttered. "We'll get up soon…"_

_Jason rolled his eyes, reaching over to scoop his son up off of the bed. _

"_Uh-huh," he said doubtfully. "I'll believe that when I see it."_

_Turning, he headed for the door with the giggling two-year-old under his arm. _

"_Come on, Mark," he said. "We're going to go get mom and grandma into the living room while we wait for your aunts to crawl out of bed."_

_Reaching the door, he paused to look over his shoulder._

"_Better get moving," he warned. "Don't make me come back up here."_

_He got two muttered and unintelligible responses from his sisters. Shaking his head, Jason headed out the door. Setting Mark down in the hallway, he followed him down the stairs. Mark ran into the kitchen calling for his mother and grandmother. A little while later, they were all gathered in the living room. But there was still no sign of the girls and Mark was getting more and more impatient. Sighing, Jason stood up from the couch and headed for the stairs._

"_Jason, where are you going?" Trini asked, trying to hold Mark still on her lap._

"_I'll be right back," he said. "I'm just going to see what's taking so long upstairs."_

_Trini sighed, but didn't argue. Upstairs, Jason opened his sisters' door to find them both still wrapped in their blankets. They hadn't moved. _

"_Last chance," he said. "It's time to get up. You can't sleep all morning."_

"_It's vacation," Vida grumbled, pulling her blanket further up. "We'll be down later."_

"_Later…" Madison mumbled in agreement. _

"_Alright," Jason said, shaking his head as he walked over to the bed. "Just remember—you asked for this."_

"_Asked for what?" Madison frowned, half turning to look at him._

_Jason didn't answer. Instead, he reached down and grabbed the mattress. Sticking his hands underneath, he flipped the whole thing upward, dumping his sisters and all of their pillows and blankets off in a pile on the floor. Madison and Vida squealed in protests as they tumbled to the ground._

"_Jason!" Madison cried, half landing on her sister._

"_I'm going to kill you!" Vida snapped._

_But Jason just let the mattress back down, laughing as he watched them trying to untangle themselves. During the fall their blankets had gotten all tangled up and now they were having trouble getting up._

"_Just think of that as payback for all of those Christmases you wouldn't let me sleep," he grinned. "See you downstairs in a few."_

"_You are so dead," Vida muttered, glaring after him as she reached down to try and untangle her feet._

"_Vida, that's my foot, not the blanket," Madison said, trying to move off of her sister's legs. _

"_Sorry, Maddy," Vida said, trying again. _

_Still laughing, Jason headed out the door._

"_Merry Christmas!" he called over his shoulder._

Tommy groaned, rolling over as he tried to pretend he hadn't just heard someone knocking on their front door. But after a moment, the knock came again. Hayley sighed, shifting and sitting up to look at him.

"Are you going to get that?" she asked, looking at him.

"Nope," he said. "It's too early for visitors."

She rolled her eyes.

"Tommy, go answer the door," she said.

"Hayley," he muttered, opening his eyes to glance at the clock. "It's eight in the morning—and it's Christmas. They can wait until later."

She raised an eyebrow, looking at him expectantly as she pushed her blankets back and swung her legs around.

"Why do I have to answer the door?" he grumbled, half sitting up. "You're getting up anyways."

"Because you're the big strong man and you're supposed to protect me," she retorted. "So grab a bat and go see who's at the door."

Tommy snorted, finally sitting up and putting his feet on the floor.

"I don't need a bat," he muttered. "If it's an intruder I'm just going to beat them with my fists for waking us up."

"So long as you go answer the door," Hayley said, heading for the bathroom.

Yawning, Tommy stood up and headed out of the bedroom. Continuing to grumble to himself, he headed for the front door. Not bothering to look outside to see who it was, he unlocked and opened the door. He opened his mouth, intending to let whoever had woken them up have it, and then froze in surprise. Crowded onto his front porch were all of the original rangers, kids in tow. For a moment, no one said anything.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" Tommy finally asked, still surprised to see them all. "And at eight in the morning?"

He hadn't seen much of his friends lately. Over the months since his run-in with Mystic Force Tommy had been withdrawn and he knew it. But he just hadn't been able to summon the energy to make much of an effort. He'd seen some of the concerned looks when they were around and knew all of them were worried, but it hadn't changed anything. So seeing them all show up on his doorstep was a bit of a surprise.

"Well, Merry Christmas to you, too," Jason said, not answering the question. "Are you going to let us in?"

Sighing, Tommy opened the door the rest of the way to let them inside. As shocked as he was to see them, he wasn't about to leave them standing out in the cold with the kids. Once everyone was inside, he shut the door—not bothering to lock it since he knew his four would be by at some point—and turned to look at his friends again. There was a flurry of movement going on in the hall as they all removed coats and shoes, helping the kids take theirs off as well. Released from their outer garments and their parents grasp, the kids swarmed around Tommy as they all tried to show him some of the things they had gotten for Christmas.

"Alright, alright," Jason said over the noise. "Go play in the living room. You can show Tommy your toys later."

They shooed the kids toward the living room, except seventh-month-old Rose who stayed in Trini's arms. She wasn't walking yet. Tommy took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair.

"Ok, now what are all of you doing here?" he asked, looking at them expectantly. "Because I don't remember planning anything."

"Hayley invited us," Jason answered.

Tommy frowned.

"In my defense," Hayley said, joining them from upstairs. "I invited them to lunch, not to wake us up this early."

She had gotten dressed in comfy clothes and brushed her hair, pulling it back out of her face. Tommy shot a look at her but she just shrugged.

"I can't deal with this yet," he muttered. "I'm going to take a shower."

Stalking past all of his friends, he headed up the stairs and disappeared. Hayley rounded on Jason and the others as soon as Tommy was gone.

"What are you doing here so early?" she demanded. "I specifically said lunch."

"Hayley, we've all been up since at least five this morning," Jason sighed. "We had to get the kids out and moving."

"We've been up since four," Tanya said as Adam nodded in agreement.

"Same here," Kat sighed. "And Kenny wouldn't go back to sleep…"

Rocky yawned.

"Ours were up at three…" he muttered.

"And that was after we let them stay up late in the hopes they'd sleep later," Aisha added. "I didn't even go to bed until eleven."

Rocky snorted, stifling another yawn.

"I was up until after midnight putting toys together," he said. "I barely slept for two hours."

"And that is why I don't have kids," Zach grinned.

"No, you don't have kids because you've yet to find a girl who will tolerate you long enough to get married," Kim retorted. "Let alone have kids with you."

The other rangers started laughing as Zach looked at her in surprise.

"Ouch, Kimmie," Zach said, acting hurt. "And on Christmas, too. Oh, wait—you're single, too."

He grinned as she glared at him. Shaking her head, Hayley sent them all toward the living room.

"I'm going to make coffee and see what I have for breakfast," she said. "Because I don't think the kids are going to last until lunch."

When Tommy came back downstairs a little later, he found Hayley in the kitchen. She had just finished making coffee and was getting mugs out for everyone. There was also a bowl of fruit and a few boxes of poptarts on the counter. Smiling as he watched her reaching for the mugs on the top shelf of the cupboard, Tommy walked over to help.

"Let me," he said, reaching up around her to grab the mugs.

Hayley stepped back to let him get the cups, turning her attention to filling the mugs she already had and putting them on trays. Setting the last of the cups on the counter, Tommy stood behind Hayley and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder as she continued to pour coffee.

"So why are they here again?" he asked quietly.

"Because you need to spend time with your friends," she answered. "And it's Christmas. You're supposed to celebrate with the people you love."

"I love you," he said.

Hayley smiled.

"I love you, too," she said, setting down the pot and turning to face him.

She wrapped her arms around him, leaning against him for a moment.

"But you still need to spend time with other people," she added. "So come on."

Extracting herself from his arms, she started to pick up the tray of coffee mugs. But he beat her to it. Picking up the heavier tray, he headed toward the living room leaving her to just grab the fruit bowl and poptarts. She sighed, but smiled to herself as she followed him. Walking into the living room, Tommy was immediately hit by the kids clamoring for his attention as they grabbed onto his legs.

"Whoa," Tommy said, trying to balance the tray in his hands. "Careful, guys. This is heavy. I don't want to drop it on you."

A chorus of 'sorry' ran through the kids as they backed off momentarily. At least long enough for Tommy to set the tray down on the coffee table. The moment it was out of his hands they were all tugging at him again.

"Look!" Jacob insisted, tugging at Tommy's hand as he held up a toy for inspection.

Smiling, Tommy followed the little boy's tugging. The kids led him away from the coffee as the rest of the adults started grabbing mugs. Dropping down on the floor, Tommy sat in the middle of the kids as they all started trying to show him their toys. Soon they were climbing all over him, laughing. Jonathan was hanging on his back, trying to show him a small foam sword which he nearly jabbed Tommy in the face with.

"He's going to stick that up your nose," Rocky snorted.

Tommy shrugged, reaching behind him to tickle the little boy.

"Voice of experience?" he grinned, looking at Rocky.

"You have no idea…" Rocky grumbled.

"Daddy is complaining," Tommy said, leaning toward Jacob and Jonathan with a grin. "I think he needs to have some fun. Right?"

They nodded, smiling.

"Then go get him," he said.

Laughing, the twins turned and ran to tackle their father where he was sitting, their foam swords still in hand. Aisha barely snagged Rocky's coffee mug away before they hit him.

"Agh!" Rocky exclaimed in surprise.

Tommy laughed, turning his attention back to the kids. Trevor and Kenneth had both moved on from sharing their toys with Tommy to playing with them in a corner. Mark had just dumped out his small power ranger backpack on the floor in front of Tommy and showing the contents off proudly.

"Look what I got!" he said excitedly. "Grandma and grandpa got them for me."

The backpack had been full of Power Ranger action figures—the originals, of course. Tommy chuckled, imagining the look on Jason's face when Mark had unwrapped that particular gift.

"So which one is your favorite?" Tommy asked, smiling as the little boy quickly reached into the pile.

He had expected Mark to grab the red ranger, given who his father was, and was surprised to find that wasn't the case.

"This one," Mark said proudly, holding up the green ranger.

"Really?" Tommy said in surprise, shooting a look at Jason.

Jason sighed, shrugging.

"I didn't put him up to it, bro," he said. "He picked that one all on his own."

Giving Jason a doubtful look, Tommy let it go for the moment.

"So he's your favorite?" Tommy asked, looking at Mark again.

Mark had started playing with his toys, creating an imaginary enemy and having them fight it.

"Yep," Mark said.

Soon, to everyone's amusement except Kim's, Mark soon had the pink ranger in need of rescuing. But when the red ranger came to rescue the pink ranger, he got captured, too. Then Mark had the green ranger rescue them both. Tommy frowned.

"Wait a sec, Mark," he said. "Why couldn't the red ranger rescue the pink ranger?"

"Cause he needs help," Mark said. "He doesn't have a sword like the green ranger."

Zach nearly snorted coffee out of his nose at that.

"Oh, he needs help alright," he laughed as Jason glared at him.

Tommy was laughing now, too.

"Alright," Tommy chuckled. "So the green is your favorite. Which one is your second favorite?"

Mark immediately reached over and picked up the white ranger.

"This one," he said proudly. "He's got a cool sword, too."

Jason started grumbling under his breath as Tommy looked at Mark in surprise again. But after a moment, he started laughing. Mark looked at him in confusion.

"What?" he said, frowning.

"Nothing, bud," Tommy smiled. "Just having fun."

The other kids were crowding around again, wanting to play with the power rangers, too. The toys were quickly divided up among them, Tommy included, and they were soon involved in an intense battle that Mark was creating as they went. From her chair, Hayley smiled. Tommy had slowly been breaking out of his slump over the past few months, but he'd still been depressed. The surprise she'd given him the month before had been helping, but this was helping more than anything else had. He was finally laughing, really laughing, for the first time in a long time. Enjoying watching them, Hayley settled back into her chair, talking with the others as she kept an eye on Tommy and the kids.

"Tommy?" Hayley said a while later, catching his attention.

He looked up from where he was still sitting on the floor with the kids.

"Yes?" he said, waiting to see what she needed.

"Why don't you take the kids outside for a bit?" she suggested, looking at him expectantly. "Let them get some energy out before lunch."

Catching the hint, Tommy nodded and started to stand up. They'd gotten presents for all the kids and he guessed she wanted to get them out without little eyes watching.

"Everyone on board," Tommy said as he stood.

Kenneth, who had been hanging on his back, just continued to hang on with his arms wrapped around Tommy's neck. Jacob and Jonathan each grabbed a leg, standing on his feet. Mark started laughing, but didn't get up, so Tommy carefully reached down and grabbed him. He threw the laughing boy over the opposite shoulder from his sister and started hobbling out of the room. Trevor followed behind, giggling in delight as he held on to the hem of Tommy's shirt. Once they were out of sight, Hayley stood to go get the presents.

"This was a good idea, Hayley," Jason commented.

She paused, nodding in agreement as she looked at the rangers. They were all relieved to see Tommy acting more like himself. His depression had worried all of them.

"He's not completely out of it," she said. "But this is good for him. He's going to be fine."

There was a thud from the hallway by the door that was followed by a chorus of giggles.

"If the kids don't kill him first," she said. "Jason?"

"I'm on it," he said. "Rocky? Adam? Zach?"

"Wait a minute," Zach frowned. "Why do I have to go outside? None of them belong to me."

"Well, you can always stay inside and help us cook," Kim said, smirking at him.

"I think I'll go play," Zach said quickly, heading for the door after the rest of the guys. "You get bossy in the kitchen."

She glared at him, but he disappeared. Laughing, the women all headed to the kitchen to help Hayley start getting things ready for lunch.

"We're here!" Conner announced, leading the way into the house. "And we're ready to—are we late?"

He stopped abruptly in the doorway of the living room, looking around in surprise. Behind him, Ethan, Trent, and Kira stopped short, too. None of them had expected to see Jason and everyone else there yet. Everyone glanced up at them. The kids were up immediately, swarming around the teens.

"Conner, did you give us the wrong time?" Ethan asked, frowning at him. "Because we're here an hour earlier than you said we needed to be—and we're last…"

"No, I'm sure it's right," Conner said, pulling out his phone. "At least I'm pretty sure… I've got the text from Hayley somewhere…"

He started scrolling through his texts, trying to find it.

"You're not late, guys," Hayley said, coming in behind them. "They were just four hours early."

"Ha! See," Conner grinned at his teammates. "I was right."

"Alright, alright," Kira said. "You were right. But why were they so early?"

"No kidding," Ethan said, shaking his head. "If we'd been that early, we'd be dead."

Hayley opened her mouth to answer, but Jason beat her to it.

"Because our kids were awake and they wouldn't settle down," he said. "We needed to get them out of the house before they went crazy."

The rest of the parents were nodding in agreement.

"I was at Aisha's house," Kim said. "So I had to come when she did…"

"And I was sleeping," Zach grumbled. "Not that you four would know, but there's a back door to the basement at my parent's house—I spent the night there on the couch in the downstairs. Then, at six this morning, our fearless leader shows up and starts pounding on the door. Nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Jason rolled his eyes as the younger rangers snickered.

"We were up, so I saw no reason for you to still be sleeping," he retorted.

"Oh, so that's why you woke us up, Jase?" Tommy asked.

He was still sitting on the floor where he'd been playing with the kids and talking with the rangers. The kids had all abandoned their game for the moment, eager to get the attention of Conner and the other three. All four of the teens had babysat most of the kids at one point or another over the last couple of years.

"Yeah," Ethan agreed, grinning. "Haven't you heard of this novel idea called a park?"

Conner snorted as Jason shot a glare at Ethan.

"Says the guy who spends half of his time playing video games and the other half programming more or building a new computer to play them on," he said.

Ethan just shrugged, still grinning.

"Conner!" Mark finally burst out, tugging on Conner's shirt.

He'd been waiting impatiently for the adults to finish talking and sit down, but he was too excited to wait any longer. Conner turned to look at him, crouching down so he was on level with the little boy.

"What's up, little dude?" he said.

"Look what I got!" Mark exclaimed excitedly, waving his green power ranger around. "Isn't it cool? Grandma and grandpa got 'em for me."

"Nice," Conner grinned, glancing behind Mark at Tommy. "And I'll bet he's your favorite, right?"

"Yep," Mark confirmed, pulling Conner after him into the living room.

The rest of the group moved back into the living room, too. All of the kids were chattering, excitedly showing their babysitters their new toys. As Conner and Ethan dropped on the floor in the middle of the kids, Tommy abandoned his spot and moved to a chair. He caught Hayley's hand as he sat, tugging her down on to his lap. Kira and Trent took his empty spot, laughing as Rose came toddling straight for Kira. She caught the wobbling baby just before she fell, pulling her onto her lap as she tickled her. The twins were climbing on Conner now as he and Ethan looked at all of the toys the kids were showing them.

"Cool," Conner said, nodding approvingly when Mark showed them the rest of the ranger figures. "But where are your Dino Thunder Rangers?"

Mark sighed, pouting.

"I don't have them yet…" he grumbled.

"Well, we're going to have to fix that somehow," Conner frowned. "Because you definitely need them."

Jason groaned as Mark grinned. Tommy, with Hayley still on his lap, leaned forward slightly as he tried to catch Conner's attention.

"Really?" Mark exclaimed.

"Sure, little dude," Conner grinned. "Well, soon as I have the money…"

He trailed off, frowning as Tommy gestured at him with a cut-off motion.

"Umm…Anyways," Conner said slowly, trying to figure out what Tommy was signaling him. "Why don't we just play with these ones right now…"

"Actually," Tommy said, shooting Conner a look. "We were just about to open presents. Hayley wanted to wait for the four of you before we started."

"What?" Conner frowned. "What does—oh!"

He stopped, catching on to what Tommy was trying to tell him.

"Yeah, let's open presents," he grinned.

Tommy rolled his eyes, letting go of Hayley so she could stand up. The other girls had helped her get the presents out earlier while the guys were outside with the kids. They were all piled under the tree in the corner now, waiting to be opened. At the mention of opening them, the little kids all swarmed around the tree, looking impatiently to Tommy. Smiling as he stood up, he moved to sit next to the tree and started handing out presents. The kids immediately started tearing into them, too excited to wait for everyone to have theirs. Soon there was paper flying everywhere as they squealed in excitement.

"Conner, catch," Tommy said, tossing one of the presents his way. "You guys may as well open yours while you're here, too."

Grinning, Conner caught his present as Tommy tossed the other three their gifts as well. Mark was bouncing excitedly now, having opened his present to find Tommy and Hayley had gotten him the Dino Thunder ranger figures. The other kids were all excited about their gifts, too, happily showing them to their parents and anyone else who would look.

"Yeah, those are great, guys," Rocky said with a forced smile as Jonathan and Jacob came running up with another set of toy swords. "Just don't hit anyone with them."

He shot a glare over their heads at Tommy as they nodded and turned, already hitting each other with the toys. Tommy just grinned, shrugging. As the immediate chaos of opening presents died down and the kids stopped demanding that their parents open boxes and such, Mark grabbed Conner again to play with his power ranger toys. Soon, to the relief of several of the parents, all of the kids were involved. Mark had allowed Conner to use the red Dino Thunder ranger, which came equipped with the shield, and Ethan to use the blue Dino Thunder ranger, which actually came with a hovercycle. And when he put it on the ground, pulled back, and then let go, it ran for short distances on its own.

"Here, Rose," Mark said, looking at his little sister sitting on Trini's lap. "Play with this one."

Jason sighed as Mark thrust the original red ranger figure at the tiny little girl. She took it, frowning for a moment without moving as she studied the toy. Then she dropped it on the floor, reaching for another of the rangers currently lying untouched on the ground—the yellow original ranger. All of the adults, who had been intently watching this play out, burst out laughing. Mark just shrugged, handing over the toy to the little girl. Trini was beaming proudly, holding her daughter with a smile as Jason glowered at his laughing friends.

"Whoops," Ethan said, drawing attention back to the game on the floor.

He had wound the hovercycle and let go without actually looking where he was aiming. The toy bike had run straight into the fallen red ranger before losing momentum and tipping over. Everyone lost it as Jason let out a strangled cry. Conner fell backward laughing, struggling to keep breathing as he did so. The rest of the adults were laughing just as hard. But what surprised all of them was to hear Tommy flat out laughing. None of them had heard him laugh like that in months.

"Great, just great," Jason muttered, glaring around the room. "Finally get him laughing again and it's at my expense…"

"Sorry, Rex," Tommy said, still laughing. "But the look on your face…"

He lost it again, nearly doubled over in his seat. Hayley, who had left for the kitchen to check on lunch after the kids finished opening their presents, came hurrying back in. She looked at Tommy laughing in surprise and then relief. Smiling, she stood in the doorway watching until the laughter finally died down. The kids kept shooting confused looks at their parents as they continued playing, not quite sure what had been so funny.

"Lunch is done," Hayley announced, looking around the room. "All that's left is to carve the turkey."

Tommy immediately hopped up, walking over to her. He paused in the doorway, wrapping an arm around her waist and giving her a quick kiss.

"I got it," he said. "Why don't you go sit down?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes, but didn't argue as he headed for the kitchen. Leaving him to it, Hayley moved to take the seat Tommy had been in. Some of the rangers exchanged glances, a little confused by the exchange.

"Has anyone else noticed Tommy is acting a little strange?" Kim asked, leaning over to a few of the others.

Zach snorted.

"He's Tommy," he said. "What's there to notice? Besides, we all know he's been off the past few months."

"No, not that," Kim persisted, glancing toward Hayley.

Hayley was leaning over and talking to Kira and Trent as they watched the kids.

"He's just, well—he's doing everything for her," she said. "Hasn't anyone noticed?"

"You're right," Kat agreed. "But I don't know that it's that strange…"

Zach shrugged, leaning back again.

"He's just being the same overly chivalrous guy he's always been," he commented. "Nothing new. Just showing the rest of us guys up."

He grinned, glancing at Rocky, Adam, and Jason.

"Zach's got a point," Aisha inserted, crossing her arms as she turned to glare at Rocky. "Why don't you ever do things like that for me?"

Rocky looked at her in surprise, putting his hands up.

"I'm sorry…" he said. "Do you want me to—"

"Too late," she said, turning back to the conversation. "Anyways, now that you mention it, girl, it does seem a little odd. Hayley usually strikes me as far more independent. I don't think I've ever seen Tommy take over something for her like that…"

The others nodded. Even Zach frowned, catching on to what Kim had been getting at.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Kat said after a moment. "He's just trying to be nice."

Kim sighed, glancing at Hayley again.

"I still think something is going on," she said as Tommy came walking back in to announce that lunch was served.

A couple of hours later, lunch was over and everyone was crowded back into the living room. People were sprawled everywhere, relaxing after a full meal. Several of the kids had started getting cranky, so they were being put down for naps in the bedrooms upstairs. Except Rose. She was fast asleep on Tommy's chest, one of his arms wrapped around her to keep her in place. Hayley was curled up on the couch next to him.

"Here, Tommy," Trini smiled, walking over. "Let me take her."

"It's alright," he said, waving her away. "She's fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I can take her upstairs to sleep."

"It's really alright, Trini," he reassured her. "No point in moving her. She might wake up."

"He's gotta get used to it anyways," Conner inserted, most of his attention still on the game he was playing with Mark.

Several of the older rangers frowned, looking at Conner in confusion.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jason asked, looking at the younger red expectantly.

"It means nothing," Tommy interrupted. "He's just being stupid."

Hayley rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Conner was looking at Tommy with a sheepish look on his face.

"Uh-uh, bro," Jason said, glaring at Tommy. "What does he mean?"

"It's nothing," Conner said quickly. "I just—umm…"

He was scrambling, trying to come up with a cover story. Hayley sighed.

"Tommy, you may as well tell them," she said.

"Nope," he said, shaking his head.

"Tell us what?" Jason frowned.

"Nothing you need to worry about right now," Tommy said evasively, shifting Rose into a more comfortable position.

Jason glared at him.

"Spill, Falcon," he growled. "Or I'll make you."

"Can't," Tommy smirked. "I'm holding your daughter."

"Tommy," Hayley said, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" he said. "We agreed I got to tell them. And I don't want to tell them yet."

"I don't think they're going to leave until you do, Dr. O," Ethan commented, glancing around the room. "Especially Jason. He's got that determined look again…"

All of the rangers were looking at Tommy now, waiting for him to explain.

"I don't have to explain anything," Tommy said stubbornly.

"Fine," Jason said. "Hayley?"

She started shaking her head.

"Sorry, Jason," she said. "But I promised I'd let him tell you. I told the kids."

Jason turned to glare at Tommy again. The other rangers were exchanging glances as they all tried to figure out what was going on.

"Come on, bro," Jason said. "Spill. What secret are you hiding?"

Tommy shook his head again. Hayley just rolled her eyes, draping an arm across her stomach as she shifted. Kat, catching her movement, frowned for a moment as she watched her. Then her eyes flew open wide.

"You aren't," she said, scooting closer to Hayley. "Are you?"

Hayley smiled at Kat as Tommy shot a look at her.

"You are!" Kat exclaimed, beaming as she hugged Hayley. "I'm so excited for you!"

The rest of the rangers were watching the exchange in confusion, not having caught on like Kat did.

"Kat, what are you talking about?" Aisha asked.

"Hayley is—oh…" Kat cut off, looking at Tommy. "Tommy?"

He groaned, his head falling back against the couch.

"You may as well," Hayley said. "Before she beats you to it."

"Fine," he grumbled, straightening back up to look at his friends.

He took a deep breath as they all looked at him expectantly.

"Hayley is—" he started, pausing and earning another glare from Jason. "Hayley is pregnant."

The room was silent for a brief moment as the rest of the rangers registered exactly what Tommy had just said. Then the volume doubled what it had been as everyone started talking at once. All of them were on their feet and trying to hug Tommy and Hayley. Trini got to Tommy first, giving him a hug and stealing her daughter away before he was swarmed by the others. The rest of the girls were all chattering excitedly around Hayley, already talking about things they could give her for the baby. Jason went straight to Tommy.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

"I was going to," Tommy protested. "I just wanted to do it when I wanted to—not when someone else spoils the surprise."

He shot a glare at Conner who just grinned sheepishly, shrugging. Mark was watching the chaos in confusion, not entirely sure what everyone else was so excited about.

"And besides," Tommy continued. "I only just found out a little while ago myself. So you can't hold it against me, Jase."

Jason glowered at him for a moment and then sighed, relenting.

"So then how come you told them?" Rocky asked, gesturing to the rest of the Dino Thunder team.

"Oh, I didn't," Tommy said. "Hayley got to tell them and her parents, I get to tell my parents and all of you."

"So why hadn't you told us, then?" Kim demanded, rounding on Tommy.

He put his hands up defensively.

"Hey, I wanted to tell my parents first," he said. "And I haven't gotten to see them face-to-face yet—well, at the same time anyways. And if I tell mom first, then dad will be mad. And if I tell dad first, mom will kill me. It's not my fault they're never home together when I'm there."

They all continued to glare at him for a moment, and then let it go as they all started talking excitedly again.

"So, when did Hayley tell you guys?" Adam asked, looking at the teens.

"About a month ago," Ethan said without thinking, freezing when he realized what he had just said.

"A month ago?" Jason growled, turning to Tommy again. "Tommy!"

"It's not my fault!" Tommy protested again. "And if you tell my parents before I get to I'm going to kill you."

They glared at each other for a moment and then Jason sighed.

"I'm happy for you," he said, a smile replacing the glare. "And now it's your turn to deal with the long nights of no sleep, the constant waking up, and all of the mess."

"Dr. O doesn't sleep half the time anyways," Kira inserted. "Don't you ever hear Hayley complaining about his sleeping habits?"

Jason opened his mouth to respond as Tommy shot a look at Kira, but was interrupted by a tugging on his shirt. He looked down to see Mark looking up at him.

"Daddy, what's going on?" Mark asked. "Why is everyone so excited?"

Jason smiled, crouching down next to his son.

"Because Uncle Tommy and Aunt Hayley are going to be having a new baby," he said. "Like when we had Rose, remember?"

Mark nodded, frowning.

"But then why is everyone excited?" he asked. "Babies are no fun… They're just loud and they smell bad…"

All of the rangers burst into laughter at Mark's statement. Ethan and Conner, already sitting on the floor, fell over laughing. Rocky nearly hit the floor, as did Zach, and everyone else was laughing so hard that some of them were crying. Tommy was laughing again, too, a welcome sound for all of them. Trini was biting her lip, shaking her head as she tried not to burst out laughing, too. Jason was fighting just as hard not to laugh in his son's face.

"Oh, honey," Trini said. "That's not all babies are."

"Yes they are," Mark said. "And if they really want one, they can have Rose."

Zach really did hit the floor, falling out of his chair as the laughter around the room increased. Conner and Ethan had practically stopped breathing. Rose, awake now, looked around at the mention of her name.

"Mark!" Trini exclaimed in shock. "You can't really want to give away your little sister."

He nodded fervently.

"Yes I can," he said. "She keeps messing up my toys and taking my stuff…"

Jason and Trini exchanged looks, shaking their heads as the others continued to laugh.


	35. Chapter 35

_**Home from the Moon**_

_I thought Trini said Jason would be home sometime this afternoon," Vida sighed. "And now it's almost dinnertime…So where is he?"_

_Madison shrugged, flipping to the next page in her book. She was curled up in an armchair reading while Vida tried to find another way to keep herself occupied. Their parents had gone out for the evening. So, bored of sitting at home, they'd called Trini to see if they could visit for the afternoon. Trini had told them she wasn't home, but they were welcome to go to the house and wait for Jason. He'd been gone for couple of days with Tommy—though neither had said where they were going. Deciding to surprise Jason, they'd walked over to the house to wait for him to get home. But now it was nearly dinnertime and they hadn't seen any sign of him._

"_You could always try calling him again," Madison suggested without looking up. "Maybe he'll answer this time."_

_Vida sighed._

"_I guess I might as well," she grumbled. _

_As she grabbed her phone, however, they both heard the door opening and excited voices. Madison tucked her bookmark in its place and set the book aside. Hopping up, she followed Vida to the door. _

"_Hey big brother!" Vida exclaimed, bouncing out into the hallway. _

_It fell silent. Madison and Vida looked in surprise at the crowd of people at the door. Jason was in front, but there were quite a few people they didn't recognize with him. _

"_Maddy! V!" Jason exclaimed in shock as Tommy pushed his way through the group. "What are you doing here?"_

_They didn't answer immediately, eying the group hesitantly. Tommy was glancing nervously over his shoulder as the girls stared._

"_Umm…we came to have dinner with you," Madison finally said, frowning in confusion. "Is this a bad time?"_

"_Uh, well…" Jason stammered, glancing behind him._

"_Who are your friends?" Vida asked in curiosity._

_A flash of light right behind Tommy made both girls jump._

"_And what was that?" Vida exclaimed. _

_Jason grimaced as the rest of the group shifted nervously behind him._

"_Oh!" Tommy said quickly, running a hand through his hair. "That was—my phone!"_

_He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and answered it as Madison and Vida exchanged confused looks. _

"_Hey, Hayley," he said. "Can't talk right now…Ok. I'll call you back later. Bye."_

_Grinning at them, he tucked his phone away again._

"_That was your phone?" Vida said doubtfully._

_Tommy shrugged._

"_Hayley is trying something new to make sure I answer my phone," he said. "Some new program she downloaded on my phone the other day."_

_Someone behind him snorted, stifling a laugh. Shrugging, the girls took a closer look at the group with Tommy and Jason. As they glanced around at the men, one of them quickly shrugged off a red jacket, tossing it over his shoulder. Standing right next to him was a younger man wearing a red bandana. Two other men were standing next to them, both in uniform._

"_Aren't those Silver Guardian uniforms?" Madison asked in surprise._

_Both men flinched slightly, as though they'd hoped the girls wouldn't notice their uniforms. _

"_Umm… yeah," Jason said hesitantly. "This is Wes and Eric. They're here…well, because—"_

"_Because Jason—it is Jason, right?" the first one, Wes, asked._

"_Yes," Jason growled, glaring at him._

"_Great," Wes grinned. "Because Jason offered to let us crash here for the night instead of all of us having to drive home this late."_

"_Ok…" Vida nodded. "But why are you out here?"_

_Wes froze, turning to look at Jason and Tommy, both of whom seemed to be trying to come up with an answer._

"_Might as well tell them," Eric said casually, shrugging. "It can't hurt. After all, they are your sisters, Jason."_

_Every single one of the men turned to look at Eric in complete shock._

"_What?" Jason sputtered._

_Eric rolled his eyes._

"_Oh, relax," he said. "It won't hurt the project if they know about it. It's nearly complete anyways and I seriously doubt anyone is going to be pestering them for information."_

_Jason and Tommy both frowned, watching Eric as the rest of them exchanged looks. _

"_We've been helping Hayley with a new security system," Eric said. "She wrote the programming and Tommy built a few prototypes."_

"_Right," Tommy agreed, a look of relief on his face as he took over the explanation. "Hayley's really in charge of the whole thing, but she needed more help testing out the system. So she pulled a group together to run some scenarios before we—she moves on to the next stage of the project."_

"_Uh-huh," Madison said, looking at him doubtfully. "And how did that land you in Angel Grove? Your apartment isn't here, Tommy."_

"_Because we needed somewhere else to run the tests," he answered. "That's where Carter comes in. He has access to larger testing sights not far from here. He also has experience setting up the kind of scenarios we were looking for, so Hayley asked him to help."_

_The man with the jacket nodded at them and the girls smiled back._

"_So, basically Hayley has all of you running around in circles doing her bidding again, right?" Vida smirked._

"_Close enough," Tommy answered. _

"_But where does Jason fall into all of this?" Madison asked. "I mean, what is he even doing with this kind of project?"_

_Jason frowned at her._

"_Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" he said. "I am an expert in martial arts and—"_

"_Jason just came to watch," Tommy interrupted, shooting a look at Jason. "He didn't have anything to contribute to the project, so he's not important. Just along for the ride."_

_Madison and Vida snickered at the look of outrage on Jason's face. He started to protest, but Tommy silenced him with another look. _

"_So, then who's the guy hiding by the door?" Vida asked, peering around Wes and Eric._

"_Oh, that's Leo," Eric answered. "He's been playing the perp in our scenarios."_

_Leo nodded at them, but didn't say anything. _

"_So then how do you explain him?" Vida said, looking at the youngest of the group. _

"_We don't," Jason scoffed._

_Tommy elbowed him and Jason grunted in pain._

"_That's Cole," Tommy said. "He's the victim."_

_Several of the men in the group nearly choked as they tried to stifle bursts of laughter. Madison and Vida exchanged looks again. _

"_Ummm… Ok then…" Madison said slowly. "I think we're just going to go. We'll come over for dinner another night…"_

_Vida nodded in agreement._

"_Sorry big bro," she said, looking at Jason. "And just so you know, your friends are weird…"_

_Tommy burst out laughing as Jason rubbed a hand across his face. Madison and Vida both darted back to the living room to get their things. Hugging Tommy and Jason on the way out the door, they slipped around the other men and headed out of the house. Tommy followed them out onto the porch._

"_Let us know when you make it home," he called after them as they headed down the street. "I've got my phone with me."_

"_We will!" the girls called back as they kept walking. _

_As they reached the end of the street, they glanced back toward the house. They could still see Tommy standing on the porch. But as they turned away they caught another bright flash of light out of the corner of their eyes. Looking back toward the house again, they saw Tommy heading back into the house._

"_Wow," Madison said, shaking her head. "His phone is really bright…I think Hayley may have gone a little overboard this time…"_

_Laughing, Vida nodded in agreement as they continued toward home. _

_Tommy took a deep breath as he watched Madison and Vida head down the street. That had been too close. He continued watching as he held up the communicator he was wearing. _

"_You guys are clear to come back," he said, shaking his head. _

_The girls reached the end of the street, pausing to look back one more time. But they turned away after a moment. And just in time. Light flashed again as TJ and Andros reappeared on the porch with Tommy. He whipped around, shoving them back in through the front door just in case the girls had caught a flash of light. Once they were all in, he shut the door behind him. Jason and the others were still waiting in the hallway._

"_Are they gone?" Jason asked, looking at Tommy._

"_Yeah, they're gone," he answered. "And I think we're covered. Pretty sure Eric's cover story worked—Amazing story, by the way."_

_He looked at Eric, who just nodded. _

"_Yeah, after he about gave all of us heart attacks," Jason grumbled. _

_Eric smirked. _

"_The looks on all of your faces were great," he said. "Did you really think I was suggesting we tell your teenage sisters that we're all power rangers?"_

"_Not even Eric would do that," Wes said. _

_TJ and Andros exchanged confused looks. _

"_So what did we miss?" TJ asked. "Because apparently it was something good."_

"_Eric came up with some story about working on a security project for Hayley," Leo said. "It was really fast thinking."_

"_Nice," TJ grinned. "Did they see us?"_

_Tommy crossed his arms as he glared at him._

"_You? No," he said. "The bright light that accompanies you teleporting? Yes. What were the two of you thinking?"_

_Everyone was looking at TJ and Andros now. They both shrugged sheepishly._

"_You said to get out of here…" Andros said. "So we left…"_

_Tommy rolled his eyes. _

"_I meant go back out the door," he said. "It was still open—remember? You could have gone out the door and around the house and they never would have seen a thing. Now they think Hayley's installed some crazy program on my phone."_

"_Sorry, man," TJ said. "It's just habit at this point. So much faster to have DECA teleport us out of trouble…"_

"_That's what you get for outing yourselves," Jason growled. "You start forgetting normal people things."_

"_Like calling your wife?" Tommy said, rounding on Jason. "I thought you told Trini we were all coming over here."_

"_I did," Jason protested. "I called her and—oh…"_

_He paused, thinking. Tommy smirked._

"_You called her before the mission," he said. "To tell her you were leaving. You didn't call her after we got back."_

"_Alright, so that part is my fault," Jason sighed. "But how was I supposed to know my sisters would show up? And how do you get to say I'm not important?"_

_Tommy smirked, shrugging._

"_Hey, to them you're nothing but their brother," he said. "You have no technological expertise to add to our make believe project or any connections that make sense for the part of your life they know about. So in this instance, you aren't important."_

_Jason glowered at him._

"_Come on, Rex," Tommy laughed, slinging at arm around his shoulder and turning him toward the living room. "You're important to the rest of us and you know it."_

"_Tommy's right, Jason," Carter agreed as the other reds trailed behind them. "You're part of the reason we all know each other and keep in touch."_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jason grumbled._

"_Hold on a minute," Cole interrupted. "I get that you had to play off Jason as not important. But why did you make me a victim? I saved all of us."_

"_You go on thinking that, rookie," Jason snorted. "You're lucky you're alive after that stunt you pulled."_

_Cole sputtered as the other rangers burst out laughing, chorusing agreements._

"_Come on, guys," Tommy chuckled. "Let's find something to eat."_

The Rock Porium was slow. There hadn't been many customers that morning—not that they'd really expected many two days after Christmas. There had been a rush of returns and exchanges the day before, but the rush had died down. Now they were all leisurely going about their tasks. Xander was directing one of the newer employees on how to use the register from his favorite chair, Chip was absently reorganizing a couple of shelves that had gotten messed up in the rush the day before, Vida was at the DJ tables entertaining them with some music, and Madison had pulled a stool up to the counter and had her homework out in front of her.

"I just can't concentrate," she sighed, closing her book. "I'm never going to finish this before the new semester starts…"

"Come on, Maddy," Xander said from his chair. "Cheer up. It's not like you have to turn that in anytime soon. The semester doesn't start for weeks."

Madison sighed, nodding as she stared down at the closed book. Vida left the music playing and bounced over to join her sister.

"Ignore him," she said, gently bumping her shoulder against her twin's. "It's good that you want to get it done."

Vida looked over her shoulder at Xander.

"She's just trying to get ahead in the reading so she can split her time better once school starts up again," Vida said, giving him a look. "Besides, she's just down because a certain boy in red hasn't called in a while."

Nick, Udonna, and Leanbow had left Briarwood a few days after the defeat of the Master to go visit Nick's adopted parents. That had been a couple of weeks before Christmas and they still weren't sure what day he'd be back. The rangers had spoken to him several times, but he had yet to commit to a return date.

"Well, it seems like he's been gone forever," she mumbled, blushing as she ducked her head again. "And he barely calls and—and… oh…"

"And you miss him," Chip supplied, joining the girls at the counter. "We all do."

"And so does Fire Heart," Xander agreed as he finally stood up to join the group. "Did I tell you he tried to set me on fire the other day?"

The other three rolled their eyes as the new employee stared at them in shock. They just ignored him. He knew who they were and they weren't concerned about him telling anyone.

"Oh, you've told us," Vida said. "And so has Daggeron."

"Though his version has you coaxing Fire Heart to light a fire for you," Chip grinned. "And you were just a little too close."

Xander glowered as his friends snickered. Toby came walking in the front door, frowning when he saw them lounging around the counter.

"And here I thought I might finally have my employees undivided attention," he said, crossing his arms. "Shouldn't you be working?"

"Toby, there are no customers," Xander said, gesturing around the shop. "The new guy is training and we've been cleaning. Besides, aren't you supposed to be at the movies with Leelee's mom?"

"Just got back," Toby countered. "And, for your information, someone just parked outside and it looks like they might come in. So at least try and look productive."

Shaking his head and muttering to himself, he headed for his office. The rangers just shrugged and exchanged smiles. Toby had gone back to his normal self after they defeated the Master. He was one of the few who didn't treat them differently at all, which they all loved.

"Alright, alright," Chip said as they started heading back to what they'd been doing. "Looking productive—Maddy, are you alright?"

As he had started to turn away, he had realized she was staring, frozen, out the window. He looked at her in concern as he waited for an answer. Her face was pale and her eyes wide as she continued to stare.

"Maddy, what's wrong?" Xander asked, looking around quickly for whatever the threat was.

Vida, who had been going back to the tables, was back at her sister's side, looking for the source of the problem.

"Come on, sis," she said, putting a hand on Madison's shoulder. "What's going on?"

Madison jumped, turning to look at Vida with wide eyes.

"It's the jeep," Madison finally said, pointing out the window to the vehicle Toby had been talking about. "That's—it's Tommy's jeep."

The other three rangers whipped around to look. Through the window they could all see the car Toby had mentioned. It was a black jeep, the top up for the cold December air. Vida immediately recognized it, too.

"It is his," she hissed as they all quickly moved out of sight of the window. "What do we do?"

The new guy was frowning at them from the register, nervously glancing out the window as he tried to figure out what was scaring the power rangers.

"There're only four of us," Chip said quietly, trying to keep the conversation between the four of them. "And if he's really as strong as Daggeron believes, we don't stand a chance without Nick."

The others nodded in agreement, looking toward the door again. No one had gotten out of the jeep yet, but they knew it was only a matter of time before he came inside.

"Let's get out of here," Xander said quickly, making a decision. "With any luck, he'll leave when he can't find us."

"Right," Vida agreed. "And if he chases us, at least the fight will be away from town."

With everyone in agreement, they all turned and bolted for the back door. Toby, who had been coming back out of his office, watched them go in surprise.

"Sorry, Toby," Chip called back over his shoulder. "Gotta feed the dragon!"

And then all four of them were gone. Toby sighed, shaking his head. Then he turned to look back at the trainee.

"You aren't going to disappear on me, too, are you?" he asked.

The boy shook his head, still nervous about what had chased the rangers away.

"Good," said Toby as the front door opened. "Then get to work."

"Tommy, you don't have to do this," Hayley said, glancing over at him. "We can still just go home."

He was staring out the window of the passenger seat, as he had been since they left Reefside. It had been a silent care ride. Tommy was not happy with her. Hayley knew it was just because he was worried, though, so she hadn't pressed the issue too much. She just couldn't bear to let him go back to Briarwood without her—or at least not by himself. And he had refused to take anyone else with him.

"I have to," Tommy finally said, continuing to stare out the window. "And I want to. I want them to know…"

He fell silent again. Hayley sighed.

"Tommy, I know you see them like little sisters," she said. "But what they did to you was wrong. They jumped to conclusions and acted without provocation on the assumption that what they guessed was correct—they didn't even try and talk to you about it!"

"They have every right to be afraid of me," he muttered, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against the window. "I—"

"If you say you deserve it one more time," Hayley snapped, interrupting. "I am going to turn this car around and you won't be going anywhere until you get your head on straight. You had no control over anything you did in high school and no one had any right to hold it against you after everything you've done to make it right. Maybe they have a right to be a little afraid of you—though I think the idea is utterly ridiculous—but they still should have given you a chance to explain before attacking you!"

Tommy didn't say anything, falling silent again. Hayley took a deep breath as she gripped the steering wheel. She wasn't the only one unhappy about Tommy wanting to come back to Briarwood. Jason had flipped, too, wanting to know what Tommy was thinking. He had finally, and reluctantly, agreed that Tommy needed to give them another chance. But Hayley knew Jason had to be waiting at home, impatiently waiting for a call that said Tommy was safe or that he needed help—especially because, as far as Jason knew, Tommy had been planning on going by himself.

Neither one spoke as Hayley finally parked the car in front of the Rock Porium. The argument over what Tommy did or did not deserve had been a frequent one since the incident in Briarwood several months before and the only conclusion they had managed to reach was that they disagreed completely on the subject. Taking a deep breath, Hayley turned off the jeep and shifted to look at Tommy. He was looking at the shop. After a moment, he turned to look at her.

"Hayley," he said slowly. "Maybe you should stay in the—"

"I am not staying in the jeep," she snapped.

Before he could argue with her about it, she unbuckled and climbed out. Groaning, Tommy did the same. He really didn't want her anywhere near Briarwood right now, but she hadn't given him a choice that morning to say no. Not only had she been awake and ready before him, but she'd taken or hidden all of the car keys and had planted herself in the driver's seat of his jeep before he realized what she was planning. Tommy had tried to convince her it was too dangerous for her to go, but Hayley wasn't listening. Pregnant or no, she wasn't letting him put himself in danger alone and, since he wouldn't take any of the teens or Jason, that meant she was going. Now actually in Briarwood, Tommy was just hoping that, should something actually happen, none of the Mystic Force rangers would hurt Hayley. He couldn't handle losing her or the baby at this point. Not because of him.

"Coming?" Hayley asked, looking at him expectantly.

She was standing on the sidewalk now, her arms crossed in front of her as she waited. Glowering at her, Tommy slammed the door of the jeep shut and joined her. As they headed toward the door, Hayley tucked herself under Tommy's arm and wrapped her own arm around his waist. He was still upset with her for even being there, but he didn't push her away. Instead, he prepared himself to move her behind him at the slightest threat. He really didn't think any of the younger rangers would attack Hayley, but then he had never thought they would attack him without talking first, either. He pushed the door open and they walked inside.

"I don't see them," Hayley said quietly as they paused just inside the door.

Tommy nodded, not seeing the rangers either. The only people they could see were Toby and a boy Tommy didn't recognize who was wearing the Rock Porium uniform shirt. When Toby saw Tommy, a look of recognition flickered across his face.

"Hey, I know you," Toby said, walking over to greet them. "You came to visit Maddy and V a while back. Sorry, but I can't recall your name."

Tommy nodded, holding out a hand to shake Toby's.

"Tommy Oliver," he said. "This is my wife, Hayley."

She smiled, shaking Toby's hand as well.

"It's nice to meet you, Toby," she said.

"So, what can I help you with?" Toby asked, shooting a look at the new employee who hadn't budged from the register.

Tommy took a deep breath, glancing around again.

"We're actually here to see the girls," he said. "Are they around?"

Toby frowned.

"Well, they were," he said. "But now they're not. Something about feeding their—umm…"

He cut off, scrambling for an answer.

"Dragon?" the new boy supplied, trying to be helpful.

Toby turned his head, glaring daggers at the kid who shrunk back. Tommy smiled faintly.

"It's alright, Toby," he said. "We both know they're power rangers already. You don't have to try and keep it a secret."

"Oh, well, then yes," Toby said. "They left just a few minutes ago saying they needed to feed their dragon."

Tommy sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Any idea when they'll be back?" he asked.

Toby shook his head.

"No idea," he answered. "Thought they'd stopped disappearing on me after they finished their fight…"

"They'll never stop disappearing unexpectedly," Hayley said drily, glancing up at Tommy. "It just seems to happen."

Tommy frowned at her, but she just shrugged.

"Mind if we hang out for a while, Toby?" Tommy said, looking at the shop owner. "Just to see if they come back? We have something to talk to them about."

"Knock yourselves out," Toby said. "I'll be in my office if you need anything."

He disappeared into his office, leaving Tommy and Hayley to wander as they waited.

After bolting from the Rock Porium, the rangers headed straight back to Rootcore.

"That was too close," Xander said as they all sat down.

"Way too close," Vida agreed.

Clare and Daggeron were nowhere to be seen, meaning they were both out working on something else at the moment. Relaxing a little now that they were safe in their base and home, the rangers tried to distract themselves with studying and training for a while.

"So what do you think he wants?" Madison asked quietly, unable to avoid the subject any longer.

"Probably the same thing as last time," Chip said. "He wants to turn us to his side."

"I don't know," she said doubtfully. "If it was just that, I think he'd try a less obvious approach. What if Tommy just wants to talk? Or maybe he's broken the spell?"

"Tommy's here?" Daggeron said in surprise, walking into the room. "When did he arrive?"

He had walked in to hear part of their conversation. The rangers turned to look at him as he joined them.

"Just a little while ago," Vida answered. "He showed up at the Rock Porium…"

Daggeron frowned, shaking his head.

"And did he say anything?" he asked.

"We didn't exactly give him a chance," Xander answered. "We left before he got out of his car."

"The last place we want anything to go down is the Rock Porium," Vida added.

"Understandable," Daggeron said. "Just keep an eye out if you leave again tonight."

"We will," they all chorused.

"So what do we do now?" Madison sighed. "We can't hide forever…"

"I say we give it a couple of hour and then go back," Vida suggested. "If he's still there, we'll deal with him them."

"And how do you propose to deal with him?" Xander asked. "V, he's the original green ranger. Tommy has dark magic that rivals the magic of Koragg—and none of us were strong enough to defeat him. We'd be handing ourselves over to him."

She sighed, but nodded.

"Well, maybe Maddy is right," Chip said. "Maybe he's not evil anymore. Or maybe he's fighting the dark magic and wants to ask for our help."

"But why now after all this time?" countered Xander. "He's had multiple opportunities."

"Hold on, guys," Daggeron said. "Chip may be on to something. You girls said you never suspected anything until that day, right?"

Madison and Vida nodded.

"He's always been a great guy," Madison said. "Tommy helps people. And he's never shown anything like that before—even after we became rangers. It was just that one day…"

Daggeron nodded.

"Then it is possible that he isn't always evil," he said. "As Chip suggested, he may be struggling against the dark magic. But, without proper training, he wouldn't be able to completely control or expel it. Instead, the magic would control him."

"Which is why he attacked Maddy," Vida said, nodding. "So then it may be possible to save him?"

"Maybe," Daggeron said hesitantly. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up. From what the scan tells me, the dark magic is a strong part of him now. I believe his good moments may become few and far between as the days go on. It may already be too late. I would focus your efforts on saving your brother, instead, before he too is lost in the dark magic."

The girls nodded, exchanging grim looks. Neither of them had spoken to Jason since the last day he came to Briarwood, too afraid to put their teammates in danger.

"We should get back, guys," Chip said, looking at his watch some time later. "We've been gone for hours now. And if he's been with Toby this whole time…"

They were all on their feet, heading for the door.

"Be careful," Daggeron warned them again. "I have a feeling not everything is as it appears when it comes to Tommy. He's dangerous. Call me if you need help."

"We will," Xander assured him as they all headed out the door.

Shaking his head, Daggeron headed out in the other direction.

Sitting on her throne in the other dimension, Mystic Mother frowned as she listened in on her rangers.

"Oh, they're giving me a headache with all of this nonsense," she said, looking at Snow Prince. "What are they going on about this time?"

"The green ranger, Tommy," he said. "They fought with him some time ago and believe he is trying to turn them evil."

"Tommy? Evil?" she laughed. "Ha. He hasn't been evil in years. Believe me. Zeddy and I tried getting him back lots of times."

Snow Prince nodded.

"I believe what you say, Mystic Mother," he said. "But there was a fight. The rangers believe he is under the control of the dark magic they found in him."

"Hmm…" she frowned. "Dark magic, you say? If that is true, then I must do something—and soon. A seed of dark magic can do great harm if left unchecked."

"Tommy, we need to get going," Hayley said softly, placing a hand on his arm.

He'd been pacing around the shop for the past couple of hours as they waited for the rangers to return. But there had been no sign of them. Stopping reluctantly, he glanced at the time and sighed.

"Alright," he said. "We'll go. Just let me leave a message with Toby."

Hayley nodded, going to stand by the door as Tommy walked over and knocked on the door to Toby's office. It opened and Toby popped his head out.

"We have to go," Tommy said. "But can you give Maddy and V a message for me?"

Toby raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Tommy took a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to say it.

"Just—just tell them it's not about changing what happened last time," he finally said. "But I need them to call me. Please. Just tell them that—tell them it's important. I really need to talk to them."

Toby nodded, frowning a little as he tried to understand the message.

"Thanks, Toby," Tommy said. "Keep an eye on them for us."

Turning, Tommy hurried away to join Hayley before Toby could come up with a response. Shrugging, Toby glanced at the time himself.

"Three hours to feed a dragon?" he muttered. "Must be a whole flock of them…"

Before he disappeared back into his office, however, he heard the back door open. Xander, Chip, Madison, and Vida came hurrying back in. Stepping out of his office, he crossed his arms as he glared at them.

"You may be power rangers," he said. "But you still work for me, and there's a lot to do before we close."

"We know, Toby," Madison said, looking around.

But there was no sign of anyone except the new employee. Tommy's jeep was no longer parked outside, either. Heading back into his office, Toby paused.

"Oh, just so you know," he said. "Your friend Tommy came by and left a message."

That caught all of their attention.

"He said it's not about changing what happened last time," Toby said. "And that he needs to talk to you about something important. He really wants you to call him."

Satisfied that he'd delivered the message as promised, he disappeared in his office again. The rangers exchanged looks.

"Go on home, kid," Xander said to the new guy. "We'll close up."

The boy nodded, heading for the door. Once they were alone, the rangers started cleaning up as they talked.

"Daggeron was right," Vida said. "He's still trying to convince us. Like we'd really fall for it."

"Just don't call him," Xander said. "He can't change your minds if you don't talk to him. And if he comes back again, we'll handle it. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the other three chorused.

Settling in to the familiar routine of closing the store, the rangers put Tommy and his visit out of their minds and turned their focus back to other things.


	36. Chapter 36

Tommy stood frowning as he looked in the fridge. They were out of yogurt. Hayley had developed a craving for it over the past few weeks and now it was all gone again.

"Guess I'm going to the store tomorrow," he muttered, grabbing a container of leftovers out and straightening up. "Or tonight if she doesn't bring some home with her."

Hayley was at the café for the afternoon, leaving Tommy to his own devices since school didn't start back up for another week. Sticking his food in the microwave, Tommy started running through a to-do list in his head. There were several things he wanted to get started on before he was busy with classes again. And doing something was better than thinking about the things he couldn't change—like his last trip to Briarwood. Jason had flipped when Tommy told him the girls hadn't shown up at all. He was angrier now because of his sisters than Tommy had seen him be in a long time.

Standing and waiting for his food to heat up, Tommy heard a sound out in the hallway. Frowning, he turned his head to listen; sure he must be hearing things because no one else was supposed to be in the house.

"Hayley?" he called, thinking he might of missed her coming in the door while he was lost in thought.

There was no answer. But he could definitely hear footsteps now—coming from the direction of the lab. He rolled his eyes, heading for the hallway. It was probably one of the kids, most likely Conner, coming in from the back way without telling him they were coming over.

"Conner," he sighed, walking out into the hall. "How many times have I told—"

He froze, instantly taking on a defensive posture. The person standing in his hallway was the last person he had ever expected, or hoped, to see ever again.

"Hello, Tommy," Rita said.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled, clenching his fists as he fought the urge to reach behind him.

It wouldn't do him any good. He had no escape. He didn't even have a morpher to fight back with. Those were all down in the lab—and she was between him and them.

"Oh, relax," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Like I believe that," he scoffed, not relaxing an inch. "Your white clothes don't fool me. Now what do you want? You're not supposed to be practicing magic anymore."

Tommy was praying that Hayley wouldn't come home early for lunch. Or come home for lunch at all. He couldn't let anything happen to her, and he wasn't sure what he could do to keep Rita from taking or hurting Hayley, too. He may be lost, but he couldn't let it happen to Hayley.

"I practice good magic now," she said in that familiar voice. "I am the Mystic Mother."

"It's still magic," he growled. "And the others won't let you get away with this. They'll hunt you down and stop you—no matter where you go or hide. And don't think you can use me as a shield. They won't hold back this time. There's too much at stake, too much to lose. They'll take me out."

And he knew they would, no matter how hard it was. They had all agreed years ago after Mark was born and they all started having families of their own—they all had too much to lose to risk one of them helping someone succeed at taking over the world. No matter how much it would hurt, the rangers would stop him at any cost.

"Oh, I'm already getting a migraine," Rita sighed, shaking her head.

"Stop stalling!" Tommy snapped. "Just get it over with. Do what you want—I've got nowhere to run."

She sighed, shaking her head. Tommy was tense, fighting with everything he had to keep his dark magic under control. It was having a strong reaction to her presence after so many years of staying away. He knew it wouldn't take much from her at this point to overwhelm him. He hadn't been ready for this confrontation.

"What are you waiting for?" Tommy demanded. "You win. I won't fight you—there's no point… Besides my friends won't let me do anything to help you take over the earth, I made sure of that."

Still tense, he dropped from his defensive position and stood waiting for her to act. There was no point in fighting a losing battle. But she just rolled her eyes.

"Oh for goodness sakes," she exclaimed. "Tommy, I'm not here to take you."

"Take me, turn me—same thing," he countered.

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath.

"I never knew it would take root like this," she said after a moment, studying him with an expression he couldn't read. "And for that I am sorry."

"What?" he said in shock.

He wasn't sure what she was talking about now. But she didn't answer, instead she just kept talking.

"I can't undo what has been done," she said sadly. "The years have seen to that—but maybe I can make it better for the future. I will make right what I can."

Tommy flinched as she raised her hands, barely keeping himself in the same spot. Rita muttered something he didn't understand and then there was a bright flash before the world went dark.

Shifting the grocery bags into her other arm, Hayley muttered to herself as she dug one-handed in her purse for her keys. The front door was still locked, which was unusual because Tommy generally unlocked it when he knew she was coming home for lunch—if it had been locked at all after he came back from his morning run.

"He'd better have a good reason for locking me out," she muttered, finding her keys and unlocking the door.

Walking inside, she shut the door behind her with her foot as she juggled her stuff, hitting the light switch with her elbow. Turning the rest of the way around, she froze in shock.

"Tommy!" she cried, dropping everything on the floor and running to him. "Tommy, are you alright?"

He was lying on the floor in the middle of the hallway and he didn't move as she dropped down next to him. Hayley carefully rolled him over, still trying to wake him up. When she wasn't getting a response, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed 9-1-1.

* * *

Feeling his phone buzzing in his pocket, Jason set down the karate magazine he was flipping through to answer the call.

"Hello?" he said.

"_Jason? It's Hayley."_

He frowned, glancing at the time. It was still early afternoon—meaning Hayley should be at the café. And the panic in her voice wasn't helping anything.

"Hayley, what's wrong?" he asked. "Did something happen?"

"_It's Tommy," _she said. _"He's in the hospital…"_

"What?" Jason exclaimed, looking around. "What happened?"

He was really wishing he'd chosen another day to have his brakes fixed now. The auto shop had just started working on his car a few minutes ago.

"_I don't know…" _she said. _"I came home for lunch and he was unconscious in the hallway. I had to call an ambulance. Jason, he still hasn't woken up…"_

Groaning, Jason rubbed a hand over his face.

"You two have the worst timing ever," he muttered. "I'm stuck at the car shop while they fix my brakes and Trini is on her way to LA for a conference this evening…"

"_Well it's not like I planned this!" _Hayley snapped.

"I know, I know," Jason said. "Were there any clues as to what might have happened? Could someone have attacked him?"

"_I don't know," _Hayley growled in frustration. _"There was nothing there to see. The door was locked, there was no sign of a break-in, and nothing else out that could possibly have led to him being unconscious. I have no idea what is causing this!"_

"Alright, alright," Jason said, pacing back and forth now.

He groaned again, glancing toward the garage where they were fixing his car.

"Just give me some time," he said. "I'll call Trini and see if she can come back. Maybe she can get here faster than they can finish my car. I'll be on the way there as soon as I can."

"_Please just hurry," _she said. _"I really can't handle this stress alone right now and all of the kids are back at school. They're running tests right now, but no one seems to be able to tell me anything at all."_

"I'm hurrying," he said. "Just hang in there. He'll be alright."

"_He'd better be," _she muttered before hanging up.

Rushing over to the counter, Jason quickly got an estimate of how long it would take for them to finish before calling Trini. It rang several times before she finally answered.

"_Jason?" _Trini said, sounding a little surprised to hear from him so soon. _"Is everything alright?"_

"Trini, I need you to get back here," he said quickly, back to pacing. "Tommy's unconscious in the hospital and it's going to be a couple of hours before they're done with my car. I need to get to Reefside—Hayley's all alone right now."

Trini gasped and Jason just hoped she didn't get herself in an accident on the way back. He knew without her saying that she was working on turning around.

"_What happened?" _she asked.

"No idea," he said, shaking his head. "Hayley said she found him unconscious on the floor. She called an ambulance, but he still hasn't woken up."

"_I'll get back as quickly as I can," _she promised. _"Just call me if you hear anything."_

Hanging up again, Jason continued to pace as he waited to hear what was going on with Tommy.

* * *

"I don't know what to do…" Hayley muttered to herself, fidgeting with her phone. "I can call them, but I have nothing to tell them. So they'll come running back in a panic for nothing—well, I think it's nothing. I hope it's nothing… But what if it is something? It could be something…"

She sighed, shaking her head as she watched Tommy from a chair by his bed. They'd been at the hospital for hours and he had shown no signs of waking up. She'd just gotten off the phone with Jason in the last half hour, unable to bear the thought of sitting in the silent hospital room by herself all night, since he was the closest at the time. Now she was debating with herself, as she had been for the last few hours, about whether or not to call Conner, Ethan, Kyra, and Trent.

"And if it is something," she continued debating with herself, "and I don't call them, they could come too late and then they'll blame me… They'd be so mad if they couldn't get here…oh…I just… Tommy, why do you have to do this to me?"

Not expecting a response of any kind, as she hadn't had any response at all in the hours since she'd first found him, Hayley was surprised when Tommy groaned in response to his name.

"Tommy?" she exclaimed, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. "Tommy, wake up. Please wake up."

He groaned again, shifting slightly though he still didn't open his eyes.

"Tommy, please," Hayley begged, resting a hand on his cheek. "Wake up."

"Hayley?" he sighed, slowly blinking his eyes open.

"Tommy!" she exclaimed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. Are you alright? What happened?"

He sighed in answered, shifting again as he looked around in confusion.

"'snot our house…" he mumbled, frowning.

"It's the hospital," Hayley said, reaching over to brush some of his hair back into place. "Do you remember anything?"

"The hospital?" he repeated, looking at her as though he didn't quite comprehend. "But—why?"

Hayley took a deep breath, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Because," she said. "When I came home for lunch I found you unconscious on the floor in the hallway. You wouldn't wake up…"

He frowned again, closing his eyes for a moment.

"How long?" he asked, obviously still fighting the haze of waking up.

"How long have you been unconscious?" she said.

Tommy nodded.

"At least four hours," Hayley said softly, squeezing his hand again. "That's about how long it's been since I found you—and I have no idea how long you were out before I got home."

"When can I go home?" he asked, looking at her.

She laughed, unable to help herself.

"I'm not sure," she said. "We still need to see the doctor. They're probably going to want to keep you overnight."

Tommy grimaced, shaking his head a little.

"And what did they give me?" he said, blinking again.

"Something to get your blood pressure up," she said. "It was really low. And so was your heart rate. And I—I couldn't tell them anything to help…"

Tommy squeezed her hand back, trying to reassure her as he tried to pull himself together.

"Do you remember anything?" Hayley asked again after a moment. "Anything at all? I couldn't see anything in the house—and the door was locked. Did you faint?"

He kept shaking his head, frowning as he tried to push through the haze.

"I don't know…" he muttered. "I—I remember…mmm…"

She watched his face, giving him a moment to fight the fog she knew had to be there. He'd been unconscious for a long time. Waking up wouldn't happen in an instant. Then Tommy paled, staring at Hayley.

"Tommy?" she said in concern, some of the panic returning. "Tommy, what is it? What happened?"

She was afraid his blood pressure was dropping again, and that was not a good sign at this point.

"Was anyone else at the house?" he asked, seeming a lot more focused now. "Hayley, is anyone else there?"

Hayley frowned, shaking her head.

"Tommy, the door was locked," she said. "No one else was there."

"But is someone there now?" he said, sounding a little frantic.

"No," she said slowly. "Tommy, what's going on?"

"You're sure no one is there?" he said again.

"I'm sure," she sighed. "I haven't called the kids at all yet and Jason can't leave Angel Grove until Trini gets there—his car is getting its brakes fixed or he'd already be here."

Tommy started shaking his head.

"No," he said. "He can't come. Tell him to stay there."

"Tommy, why?" Hayley frowned. "He wants—"

"Hayley, please," Tommy interrupted. "Just tell him not to come. He can't come right now."

She took a deep breath.

"You remember something," she said accusingly. "What is it? What happened this morning?"

"I can't tell you right now," he said, looking away so he didn't have to meet her eye.

"Tommy, what is going on?" she demanded. "Please."

"I can't," he said again. "Not here."

He glanced up to meet her eye momentarily. The look on his face gave her a good hint of something she didn't want to hear. Whatever had happened at the house that morning, it was ranger related. It was the only reason she could think of why he wouldn't say anything here—he couldn't risk saying anything in public. She took a deep breath, trying not to panic.

"Fine," she said. "But I still think Jason should—"

"No," Tommy said firmly, not budging. "He needs to stay in Angel Grove."

Hayley sighed, relenting.

"Alright," she said. "I'll tell him to stay. But you know that's not going to work on the kids. I haven't called them yet, but once they find out they'll be here as soon as they can make their excuses and make the trip."

"Don't call them," he countered, clutching the blanket now.

He was clearly tense about something.

"Tommy, we have to tell them," she said softly. "They've earned the right to know—"

"Later," he promised. "I'll call them after I get home. Just—just don't call them now. Not yet."

Taking a deep breath, he looked up.

"Hayley, please?" he pleaded.

"Okay," she relented. "But you have to call them or I will. They aren't just your old students, Tommy. They care about you—and so does Jason."

He nodded mutely, dropping his head again. Dropping a quick kiss on his cheek, Hayley stood up.

"Stay here," she said firmly, glaring down at him. "I'm going to get the nurse and tell her you're awake and then call Jason."

Tommy didn't respond, staring at the wall now. Sighing, Hayley decided to be safe and reached over to hit the call button for the nurse rather than risk him disappearing if she let him out of sight.

* * *

"Where is she?" Jason muttered, looking at the time again. "It's been almost an hour. There's no way she could have been that far away. She should be here by now."

He had moved outside of the shop to pace. No one inside had said anything, but he had guessed from the looks on their faces that his pacing was driving them nuts. So he'd gone outside to pace in peace as he waited for Trini to get there.

"Come on, Trini," he said. "We've gotta get to—"

Jason cut himself off as his phone started ringing, answering it as quickly as he could.

"Trini, where are you?" he snapped, barely glancing at the caller ID.

"_Well, I'm still at the hospital," _Hayley said. _"And I'm not Trini. I don't know where she is."_

"Hayley!" Jason exclaimed. "Is he alright? What's going on?"

"_He's fine," _she answered. _"He's awake now."_

Jason breathed a sigh of relief.

"So what happened?" he asked.

There was a pause at the other end of the line.

"_I don't know," _Hayley said slowly.

Jason frowned.

"What?" he said. "Doesn't he remember?"

"_I'm not sure," _she answered.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"_It means he won't tell me what he remembers or if he actually remembers anything at all," _she grumbled.

"Of course he won't," Jason muttered. "Don't worry. I'll just beat it out of him when I get there."

There was another pause.

"_Actually," _Hayley said hesitantly. _"That's part of why I'm calling…Tommy—well, he doesn't want you to come right now."_

"Oh no," Jason said, shaking his head. "I don't think so. He is not telling me I can't come up there after he does this."

"_Jason, please," _she said. _"He's going to be fine, I promise. He just wants some space right now and if you come running in here it's just going to stress him out more. Stay home tonight and you can head this way tomorrow. Okay?"_

"I don't think so," Jason said. "I'm not giving him a chance to bolt before he explains what happened. He's got to remember something."

"_I know he does," _Hayley said. _"Whether he'll admit it or not—but he's not going to talk if you come storming in here. Please wait until tomorrow."_

Jason sighed.

"Alright," he relented. "I'll wait. Let me know when you get him home, though."

"_Yeah, whenever that will be," _she muttered. _"The doctors still have some more tests they want to run now that he's awake. It could be hours yet."_

"Wait a minute," Jason said. "You mean he hasn't checked himself out yet?"

"_No, he hasn't," _she said. _"He mentioned going home briefly right after he woke up, but then something changed. He's barely said a word since outside of insisting that no one come."_

"Ok, something is definitely wrong with him," Jason frowned. "Tommy hates hospitals."

"_I know!" _Hayley said, sounding a little frustrated. _"And that's the worst part right now. I know something happened, but he won't tell me what it is and it's driving me nuts. I just want to get him home and away from other people…"_

"Then take him home," Jason said. "Find out what happened. You have what you need to take care of him."

"_I think I will," _she sighed. _"And I'll feel better having him where I can keep an eye on him without anyone else trying to tell me how to take care of him."_

"Great," he said, catching sight of Trini finally pulling into the parking lot. "Then get him home. But Hayley?"

"_Yes?" _she said.

"Promise me that you'll call if anything else happens," he said. "Anything at all."

"_Jason, he's going to be just fine," _she said.

"Maybe, but that's not all I'm worried about," he said. "You said yourself he's acting off, and that worries me."

"_I can handle it," _Hayley assured him.

"Hayley, I'm serious," he said firmly. "If anything weird starts happening or he starts acting completely out of character, call me. Tommy is my best friend and that's never going to change, but I've seen what can happen. If he starts acting erratically, I want you to go down to the lab and lock yourself in—completely shut it down—and then call me, no matter what time it is. I can be there as fast as I need to be."

"_Jason—" _Hayley tried protesting again.

"Promise me, Hayley," he insisted. "Promise me or I'll come up there tonight whether you want me to or not."

"_Alright, I promise," _she said reluctantly. _"But you have to stay there until I tell you he's ready, ok? I don't want you pulling in my driveway before lunch tomorrow."_

"Fair enough," Jason agreed. "Keep me updated."

Hanging up with Hayley, Jason turned to see Trini waiting outside her car.

"Let's go," she said. "I already spoke to my parents. They'll keep the kids an extra night or two. Goodness knows they've got enough clothes there to last…"

Jason started shaking his head.

"We're not going to the hospital," he said.

"He checked himself out again, didn't he?" she said in exasperation.

"Nope," he said. "Hasn't even tried."

Trini looked at him in surprise as they both climbed into the car.

"He hasn't?" she exclaimed. "Is he alright? He is awake, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he woke up," he sighed. "But Hayley said he's acting weird—well, weirder than normal. I promised we'd wait until tomorrow to come up."

Trini rolled her eyes.

"He said to stay away, didn't he?" she said.

"Yep," Jason nodded.

She shook her head.

"Does everyone else know yet?" she asked as they pulled away.

"No!" Jason exclaimed. "And we aren't telling anyone."

"Jason, they have a right to know," she said. "They're his friends, too."

"Yeah, but if we tell everyone, then someone is going to show up on his doorstep tonight and Hayley is going to kill me," he said. "The kids don't even know yet, Trini. Until Tommy is ready to talk, this is just between us and them. Alright?"

"Alright," she reluctantly agreed.

"Good," said Jason. "Now let's go home and pack."

* * *

"Hayley, you don't need to help me," Tommy sighed as she helped him into the house.

It was late now, and they were finally home from the hospital. After letting the doctors finish their basic exams, Hayley had announced she was taking him home. The doctors had clearly been reluctant to allow it, and had strongly recommended Tommy remain in the hospital at least overnight for coma watch, but Hayley had insisted that he go home with her.

"I know," she said shortly. "But I am your wife and I know what's best for you right now, so I'm helping you."

He sighed again, but didn't argue. Inside, Hayley closed the door and escorted him into the living room, making him sit down in a chair.

"Hayley, I'm fine," Tommy said quietly.

She pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow.

"Tommy, you are not acting like yourself," she said. "Now what happened? I know you remember something."

He took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as she stood watching with her hands on her hips.

"Where's your phone?" he asked instead of answering her question.

Hayley frowned.

"In my pocket," she said. "Why?"

"Can I see it?" he asked, holding out a hand.

"Why?" she asked slowly, pulling it out of her pocket. "Are you going to call the kids?"

"Just let me see it," he repeated.

Still not entirely sure what he was doing, she handed him the phone. But he didn't try and call someone. Instead he popped the back off and took out the battery. Before Hayley could stop him, he threw the battery across the room and it disappeared from sight.

"Tommy!" Hayley exclaimed, whipping around to go after it. "What was that for?"

Putting the back on the phone again, he set it down on the arm of the chair.

"To make sure you can't call anyone," he said.

Hayley stopped for a moment, her mind immediately going to what Jason had said. She glanced over her shoulder, but he hadn't budged from the chair. Frowning, she went back to looking for her battery.

"Does that mean you're going to tell me what happened?" she asked.

"Well, part of it is still a little fuzzy…" he said slowly.

"Tommy, what happened?" Hayley said, straightening back up and moving to check the couch.

He sighed.

"I—I had a visitor," he said.

"There was no one here," Hayley said, shaking her head. "And the door was locked. They would have had to come in through the lab. So who was it?"

He hesitated again, running a hand through his hair.

"Tommy, who was it?" Hayley repeated, checking under the last couch cushion.

"It was Rita," he mumbled.

Hayley froze, dropping the cushion back into place as it slipped from her fingers.

"What?" she exclaimed, spinning to look at him. "But—how?"

"It was Rita," he said again. "And I don't know. She just appeared out of nowhere—took me completely by surprise..."

"What is this?" she cried. "Some kind of sick revenge? What did she want? What did she do to you?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "All she said was something about 'making it right'. That's the last thing I remember before waking up in the hospital with you…"

Hayley was shaking her head as she paced agitatedly back and forth.

"Made it right?" she scoffed. "As if she could ever make anything right after what she put you and the others through. How dare she break into our home and start spouting such nonsense! She had no right to be anywhere near you. Or practice magic! Didn't the rangers specifically tell her that if she started practicing magic again that they wouldn't let her go again? If she ever shows up here again, I swear I'll—"

"Hayley," Tommy interrupted, watching her in concern. "Please sit down."

"Why?" she snapped, stopping for a moment.

"Because," he said. "There—there's something else…"

"What?" she asked.

Tommy took a deep breath.

"I can't feel it anymore," he said. "The dark magic. I could always feel it before, even if I wasn't trying to. It's just always been there."

"I know," Hayley said. "We talked about that years ago. So why is it different now?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. "But it's gone—like if I tried to touch it I couldn't. Almost like it never existed."

"Don't you dare even try," Hayley said, stalking over to his chair. "Let's go."

She took his hand, tugging him out of the chair.

"Hayley, where are we going?" he asked. "Didn't you hear me? Rita did something to me—to my magic. I'm not safe to be around."

"We're going downstairs," she said, towing him after her toward the office. "And I don't care how long it takes—I'm finding out exactly what she did."

* * *

Glancing at the time again, Jason decided he'd waited long enough. It was afternoon and he still hadn't heard anything from Hayley about when to come to Reefside. Grabbing his phone, he tried calling her cell but it just went straight to voicemail.

"That's weird…" he muttered. "She nearly always has her phone on and charged. Did she forget to take a charger to the hospital?"

Sighing, he tried again with the same result. Giving up on her phone, he tried Tommy's. To his surprise, someone picked up after just a couple of rings.

"_Hello?" _Hayley said.

"Hayley?" said Jason. "What's going on? Did you get him home yet?"

"_Oh my gosh! Jason!" _she exclaimed. _"I am so sorry… I completely forgot to call you…"_

"So everything is alright?" he asked, relieved that she had simply forgotten. "When are you taking him home?"

"_Umm… We're already there," _she said sheepishly. _"We got home late last night…"_

He shook his head, walking into the next room as he continued talking with her.

"Great," he said. "Then Trini and I will be up there in a couple of hours. Need us to bring anything?"

"_No," _she said quickly. _"You don't need to come."_

Jason stopped in his tracks.

"What?" he said.

"_Don't come," _she repeated. _"Tommy's home, he's resting—everything's fine."_

"Hayley, I want to see him," Jason said, frowning. "He's my best friend and he was in the hospital for some mysterious reason. Did he ever tell you why?"

She didn't answer for a moment.

"_Not exactly," _she said. _"But that doesn't matter right now. All you need to know is that he's fine and that you don't need to come over today—or for a while, actually. In fact, don't come visit until further notice."_

"Hold on a minute," he said. "What are you talking about? Why can't I come visit?"

"_Because—because you can't right now," _Hayley responded. _"That's why."_

"Hayley, you're going to have to give me a better reason than that," Jason said. "'Because I can't' isn't going to cut it."

"_Well, that's all you're getting right now," _she countered.

"Then I'm coming up there anyways," he said.

"_No you will not, Jason Scott," _she snapped. _"You may be his best friend, but I am his wife and if anyone has any say in what's best for him it's me. So if you come within ten miles of this house before you have my express permission I will—I—I don't know what I'll do yet, but you will not like the results."_

Jason grimaced. Hayley did not make idle threats, even if the threat wasn't specified at the time it was issued.

"Fine," he reluctantly relented. "But at least let me talk to him."

"_You can't do that either right now…" _she said.

"Why now?" he asked shortly.

"_Because he's sleeping," _she muttered.

"Hayley, it's after noon!" Jason exclaimed. "Why is he still sleeping? He never sleeps this late."

"_I may have kept him up most of the night," _she admitted, stifling a yawn. _"And I was sleeping until his phone started ringing…"_

Jason sighed.

"Does keeping him up all night have anything to do with what happened?" Jason asked, hoping for a hint. "And why didn't you just answer your phone?"

"_It might, but I'm not telling you anything," _she retorted. _"And I didn't answer mine because I can't find the battery…"_

"What?" Jason frowned. "How did you lose the battery?"

"_Because Tommy threw it somewhere last night to keep me from calling anyone," _she grumbled. _"And I was too tired to look for it earlier. I'll find it eventually."_

"That doesn't seem like a good sign," Jason said slowly. "Hayley, if he's acting like that you really shouldn't be cutting off communications."

"_Jason, I'm fine," _she snapped. _"I'm fine, Tommy's fine—we're both fine. We do not need your help right now, so stay home. I am not kidding when I say I will make you regret coming here right now."_

"Alright, alright," he said reluctantly. "Just—please have Tommy call me when he wakes up. I just want to talk to him. Okay?"

"_Fine," _Hayley said shortly. _"I'll have him call. So stay away."_

He opened his mouth to answer, but the phone line went dead. Shaking his head, Jason went to go find Trini. He had to tell her they weren't going and she wasn't going to like it.


	37. Chapter 37

_**Tommy's Coma**_

"_I'm here!" Jason yelled, shutting the door behind him. _

"_Jason!" Vida exclaimed, darting down the hall._

_He laughed, catching her as she jumped at him to give him a hug. Madison wasn't far behind. Both girls started talking at once, telling him about school and their friends and everything they'd been doing._

"_Slow down," he said, shaking his head as they tugged him toward the dining room. "And how much could you possibly have done in the past week? I just saw you last Tuesday."_

_Rolling their eyes, the twins let go as they walked into the dining room. Mr. Rocca was setting the table when they walked in. Setting down the silverware, he turned to give Jason a hug._

"_Your mother is in the kitchen," he said. "How are things going?"_

"_Just great, dad," he said. "These two staying under control?"_

_Mr. Rocca laughed as Madison and Vida stuck their tongues out at Jason. _

"_Trouble as usual," he said, smiling at the girls. _

"_Jason," Mrs. Rocca said, coming out of the kitchen to greet him. "Where's Trini and Mark?"_

"_Nice to see you, too, mom," he said, hugging her. "Trini took Mark to her parents' this morning. They haven't gotten back yet."_

"_Oh, ok," she said. "Well, go help your father finish setting the table so we can eat."_

_Chuckling, Jason turned to do as she asked. Vida and Madison were helping, too. Soon they were all sitting down to dinner. Even though it hadn't been long since Jason's last visit, they spent the first part of lunch catching up and sharing stories about what everyone had been doing. Madison was telling them about something that had happened in class that morning when Jason sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. He had glanced at it a few minutes before, but hadn't answered. _

"_Sorry, Mom," he said when Mrs. Rocca glared at him. "And I don't mean to interrupt you, Maddy. But it's gone off three times already—I need to make sure it isn't an emergency."_

_Sighing, Mrs. Rocca didn't argue when he stepped away from the table to answer._

"_Hey, Hayley," he said. "What's going on?"_

_Jason froze in the doorway._

"_What?" he exclaimed. "He's where? What happened?"_

_Jason took a deep breath, running a hand over his head as he started pacing. Everyone at the table was watching him now, frowning as they listened to the conversation._

"_What is the doctor saying?" he asked. "So they have no idea?...Yeah, I realize that. It's not exactly something you can just explain—Alright, alright. But I'm on my way over there now…Why not?...Hayley, they know me already—Tommy made sure of that, remember? Yes, I do know about that…Fine. I'll wait. But don't call anyone else or—I know, I know. You have no intention of calling anyone else because you don't want to deal with the swarm—Don't let them call Kim! If anyone calls her you won't get rid of anyone for weeks and that's the last thing the kids need in their way."_

_Confused and concerned, the four at the table watched Jason closely. He took a deep breath._

"_Alright," he sighed. "Please call me the minute anything changes…I really just don't understand how it's always him…Mmm hmm…Alright. Call me if they need me…No, I don't have a plan but I'm not going to let something happen to them if Tommy can't be there…No, go ahead. Bye…"_

_Sighing, he hung up, shaking his head. _

"_Jason," Mrs. Rocca said. "What's going on?"_

_He turned to look at them, having forgotten for a few minutes that he was there._

"_Just something going on with Tommy," he said, trying to dismiss the conversation. "But I have to go take care of a few things now—"_

"_Jason Scott!" Mrs. Rocca said sternly. "Don't you take another step toward that door until you tell us what's going on with Tommy. That was not a casual conversation."_

"_Mom," Jason said._

"_Jason," Mr. Rocca said, looking at him expectantly._

"_That look shouldn't still affect me," Jason muttered, running a hand over his head. "But it does. I'm twenty-six years old and my dad can still get me with a look…"_

_Mr. Rocca raised an eyebrow._

"_Tommy's in the hospital," Jason said reluctantly. "There was an—accident—in his lab this morning…"_

_Mrs. Rocca and the twins gasped while Mr. Rocca looked at Jason in surprise._

"_Is he alright?" Madison cried, her eyes wide._

_Jason shook his head._

"_They don't know," he said slowly. "Right now he's in a coma. The doctor told Hayley is brain patterns are erratic. They're doing everything they can to bring him out of it, but they've had no success so far."_

"_What kind of accident was it?" Mrs. Rocca asked, a hand to her mouth._

_Jason hesitated._

"_I can't give you all the details," he said. "All I know for sure is he was working with a machine and something backfired."_

"_But he has to be ok," Vida insisted. "He's supposed to come for a visit soon because he missed our belt testing."_

"_He promised," Madison added. _

"_I know," Jason said._

"_How long has he been in the coma?" Mr. Rocca frowned._

"_Since this morning," Jason answered. "Hayley hasn't had a chance to call because she was getting him to the hospital, waiting for the doctor, and then the kids—well, she finally got a chance to call me…"_

"_Kids?" Mrs. Rocca said in confusion._

_Jason shook his head._

"_Just a few of his students," he said. "They were with him when the—project—backfired. Hayley's been trying to keep them calmed down and everything under control. But the point is he's been out for several hours now with no sign of waking up…And the longer he stays in the coma—"_

"_The less likely he is to wake up," Mr. Rocca finished grimly._

_Madison burst into tears. Vida wasn't crying yet, but she was close to tears. Jason held out his arms and they both hurried over to hug him. He held them close for a moment. Mr. and Mrs. Rocca were both on their feet now, lunch officially interrupted. _

"_I'll go pack," Mrs. Rocca said, starting to head toward the stairs._

"_And I'll get the car," Mr. Rocca said._

"_Whoa, wait a minute," Jason said, letting go of his sisters and moving to intercept his mother. "You can't go there."_

"_Why not?" Mrs. Rocca frowned. "Tommy is in the hospital in a coma, Jason. If there's a chance that he'll—well, we should be there."_

"_Mom, you can't," he said again. "First of all, they're not allowing him to have visitors right now. Second of all, there's currently a monster rampaging through Reefside."_

"_And there were monsters here in Angel Grove all the time when you were in high school," Mr. Rocca said, raising an eyebrow. "And we can sit in the waiting room until he's allowed visitors."_

"_No," Jason said again, shaking his head. "I know Tommy and he wouldn't want all of us moping around waiting for him to wake up. Hayley promised to call the minute she has any updates. Alright?"_

_His parents weren't happy, but they nodded. Jason took a deep breath._

"_Thank you," he said. "Now I've gotta go. I need to figure out what I'm going to tell Trini—and the Olivers…"_

_He sighed, running a hand over his head again._

"_What am I going to tell the Olivers?" he muttered. "Oh! Mom, dad—why don't you pack up lunch and go over to the Olivers' house to wait for news? I'm sure they'll need the company and I doubt they'll be up for making anything themselves."_

"_We can do that," Mrs. Rocca said quickly, glancing at her husband._

"_Great," Jason said, heading for the door. "I'm heading over there now—don't know if I'll still be there when you get there, but I'll let them know what's going on."_

_Pausing, he looked at Madison and Vida. Both were still visibly upset. Madison was sniffling and crying a little while Vida was trying not to do the same thing._

"_He'll be alright," Jason said, giving them a faint smile. "Tommy's pulled out of a lot of things before—he has a way of surprising us when it seems least likely."_

_They nodded and gave him another hug before he left. As soon as Jason was gone, the house exploded into motion. Mrs. Rocca shooed the girls up the stairs to get ready to leave while she packed up the food. Within twenty minutes they were all in the car and on their way over to the Olivers' house. When they got there, Jason was already gone but Mr. Oliver met them at the door. His face was grave as he greeted them, thanking the Roccas for coming over. Mrs. Oliver was crying in the living room, still wanting to go running to Reefside. But Jason had convinced them to at least wait until the monster was gone. The rest of the afternoon was spent waiting for a phone call with the TV on so they would know when the monster was gone. By late that evening, however, there was still no news from Tommy. They did see on the news that the power rangers had gotten rid of the monster, but by that time it was too late to head to Reefside. The hospital wouldn't be allowing visitors even if Tommy was allowed them. So the Roccas headed home for the night._

"_Do you think he's going to be alright?" Madison asked softly, curled up on her sister's bed._

_After getting home, they'd gotten ready for bed. But neither of them wanted to be alone right at that time so Madison had ended up in Vida's room._

"_He's always alright," Vida said. "And he never breaks a promise…"_

_Madison sighed, nodding._

"_But what if—" she cut off, hugging her pillow tighter._

"_He's going to be alright," Vida repeated, hugging her own pillow. "He has to be."_

_Eventually they both dozed off, neither one really falling asleep. Hearing footsteps in the hallway, the both sat up to look as the door opened. It was their father holding the phone._

"_It's for you two," he smiled, holding it out. "I'll leave the phone with you. Just put it away before school in the morning. Oh, and you might want to turn it on speaker."_

_They both looked at each other and then at the clock before turning back and reaching to take the phone from their father. It was after midnight. After they took it, he turned and left the room._

"_Hello?" Vida said hesitantly after turning it on speaker._

"Hey, V," _a familiar voice said. _"Is Maddy there, too?"

"_Tommy!" they both cried._

"_You're awake!" Madison exclaimed._

"_You're alive!" Vida said at the same time._

_Tommy chuckled, sounding tired._

"Yeah, I am," _he said. _"And I'm going to be just fine."

"_Jason said you were dying…" Madison mumbled quietly. "We were scared you were going to…"_

"You should know better to listen to your brother," _Tommy sighed. _"He always over exaggerates everything."

"_But you were in a coma!" Vida said._

"I know," _Tommy said soothingly. _"And I'm sorry for scaring you. I promise everything is fine now. I'm going to be alright."

"_And you're going to come visit?" Madison asked._

"As soon as I can get away for a weekend," _he promised. _"I still want to see those new belts, after all."

_The girls smiled._

"Now," _Tommy said. _"You two get some sleep. You have school in the morning."

"_So do you," Vida retorted. _

_Tommy laughed._

"Yes, I do," _he said. _"Now go to sleep. I'll talk to you soon."

"_Bye," the girls chorused._

_Hanging up the phone, they set it aside and curled up again. Relieved to have heard from Tommy, both of them were soon fast asleep._

* * *

"_There's his jeep!" Vida exclaimed, darting for the door._

_Madison was right behind her. They flew out the door and down the walkway to where Tommy's jeep had just parked. He climbed out and turned around just in time to catch the girls as they threw their arms around him._

"_Tommy!" they exclaimed excitedly._

_He stumbled a little as he caught them, but laughed and hugged them back. Hayley waved from the driver's seat of the jeep, her phone to her ear. _

"_Hey, girls," he smiled. "Good to see you, too. What are you doing here?"_

_They grinned at each other. _

"_Well," Madison said. "Jason may have let it slip that you were coming to see your parents this weekend—"_

"_So we asked if we could come over while you were here," said Vida. "And so mom and dad decided to come over, too."_

_Tommy glanced around as they started heading up toward the house._

"_There are an awful lot of cars here for just your family and mine," he said suspiciously._

_The front door opened again and Jason popped out._

"_You're in so much trouble, bro," he grinned, leaning against the door frame._

"_Jason, who did you call?" Tommy asked, glaring at Jason as they walked toward the door._

"_I only called your parents and my parents," he said. "Your mom did the rest."_

_Tommy groaned._

"_Who all is here?" he sighed._

"_Well," Jason said slowly. "Pretty much everyone except Kim and Tanya's parents and—no, it's just their parents who aren't here. Our group will be here shortly. They all want to see you."_

"_Great," Tommy muttered, walking up the porch. "Just great. I should have just stayed home."_

_Jason laughed, moving aside so Tommy could walk inside. But Tommy had only taken a few steps inside the house when Mrs. Oliver launched herself at him, grabbing him in a tight hug. Tommy winced a little, but hugged her back. She didn't notice his wince as she started crying into his shirt. _

"_Hey, mom," he said, rubbing her back. "I'm here and I'm alright. I promise."_

_She just started crying harder and hugged him tighter._

"_You almost died," she sobbed._

"_I'm alright," Tommy repeated. "I'm sorry for scaring you…"_

_Mr. Oliver came walking down the hallway as Tommy continued hugging his mother. Coaxing his wife into letting go, he pulled Tommy into a hug._

"_You really gave us a scare," he said._

"_Sorry, dad," Tommy sighed, hugging him back. "But I really am alright. Just ask Hayley."_

"_Where is Hayley?" Mr. Oliver asked. "You didn't drive, did you?"_

_Mrs. Oliver, apparently not having thought of that, frowned at her son._

"_No, didn't drive," he said. "Hayley is in the car."_

"_Tommy!" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed. "Invite her in."_

"_She's coming," he protested. "She's just on the phone right now."_

"_Mmm hmmm…" Mrs. Oliver said. _

"_You should come sit down," Mrs. Oliver insisted, taking Tommy's hand and tugging him down the hallway. "After being in the hospital you need to rest."_

_Tommy groaned, but allowed her to pull him down the hall after he kicked off his shoes. The rest of the mothers were waiting in the living room. They immediately started fussing over him, everyone wanting to give him a hug and make sure he was alright. After a moment, Trini managed to insert herself for a hug._

"_Tommy you idiot!" she exclaimed, smacking him on the arm as she stepped back. "You can't keep doing things like this to us—and if you ever do this again I'm going to hunt you down and put you in the hospital myself!"_

"_It's good to see you, too, Trini," he said, smiling as she glared up at him._

"_Sit down, Tommy," Mrs. Rocca insisted._

_Mrs. Oliver agreed, pushing Tommy toward a chair. Sighing, he sat down and made himself comfortable. Vida and Madison grabbed the chair next to him the two of them squishing in together. Four-year-old Mark, who had been playing with some toys on the floor, got up and walked over to Tommy. He leaned on the arm of the chair, looking up at him._

"_Uncle Tommy?" he said._

"_Hey, bud," Tommy smiled. "What's up?"_

"_Are you in trouble?" he asked. "Cause everyone is crying and keeps touching you…Mommy only does that when I scare her. Then I have to go to time out…"_

_Tommy chuckled. _

"_Yeah, I'm in trouble," he said, ruffling Mark's hair._

"_You're in time out?" Mark said._

"_Mark," Trini said, shaking her head._

"_Yeah," Tommy sighed. "I kind of am…"_

"_Tommy, you are not in time out," Mrs. Oliver sighed._

"_Are you going to let me out of this chair while I'm here?" he asked._

_Mrs. Oliver hesitated and Tommy smirked._

"_See, I'm in time out," he said._

"_You were in the hospital," Mrs. Oliver protested. "You need to rest."_

_Grumbling, Tommy settled back into his chair and looked over at Jason._

"_I go from having no mom to having ten," he muttered._

"_That's your problem, Tommy," Jason grinned. "You're the one who managed to endear yourself to all of them."_

_Tommy just glared at him._

"_You said there were more people here," Tommy said. "Where's everyone else?"_

"_The dads are in the backyard," Vida piped up. "They're grilling lunch. And none of your other friends are here yet."_

"_Oh, good," Tommy said, starting to try and get up again. "I think I'll go say hi to them."_

"_Thomas Oliver stay right where you are," Mrs. Oliver scolded._

_Sighing, Tommy sat back down._

"_Mom, I'm fine," he said. "Seriously. I don't need to sit in the chair all afternoon."_

"_You weren't just taking a nap, Tommy!" she exclaimed, nearly bursting into tears again. "You were in a coma!"_

"_And I'm awake now," he said. "There's nothing wrong with me."_

_Mrs. Oliver's eyes narrowed. She put her hands on her hips as she glared down at her son. Lounging in another chair, Jason snickered. Madison and Vida were giggling, too. They didn't see Tommy in trouble very often._

"_Oh, is that so?" Mrs. Oliver asked. "Did they ever determine what the cause was?"_

_Tommy hesitated, glancing over at Jason._

"_Not exactly…" he answered slowly. _

_Everyone was looking at him expectantly now._

"_What?" he said, his hands up. "Ok…So I may have been electrocuted by a backfiring machine in the lab…"_

_Nearly everyone in the room gasped. Madison and Vida looked at Tommy with wide eyes. Trini sighed, shaking her head as she glanced over at Jason. He didn't seem surprised by the news, so the girls guessed Tommy had already told Jason the full story. _

"_And you're still claiming there's nothing wrong?" Mrs. Oliver said. "There are bound to be some side effects. What did the doctor say when they released you?"_

"_Well…" Tommy said, running a hand through his hair._

"_Released?" Hayley snorted from the doorway. "Who said anything about him being released?"_

_Tommy groaned as all the mothers glared daggers at him. He absently rubbed the silver band he was wearing on his left wrist as he listened to them scold him._

"_Thomas Oliver!" his mother snapped. "What does Hayley mean by that? You were released, right?"_

"_Hayley," Tommy groaned. "You just had to say something, didn't you?"_

"_What?" she said, crossing her arms. "You didn't want everyone to know that you checked yourself out of the hospital not fifteen minutes after you woke up? And didn't go back to have them check on you until the next evening when I had to drag you there under threat of drugging you?"_

"_What?" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed, glaring at Tommy. "Thomas Oliver what were you thinking?"_

"_I wasn't," he protested, trying to back track. "I had just woken up from a coma. I wasn't exactly thinking straight."_

"_No kidding," Jason snorted, muttering to himself. "Have to go running off before the doctor sees you."_

"_Uncle Tommy?" Mark said, tugging on Tommy's shirt again. "You're gonna be in time out a long time…"_

_Tommy sighed, nodding as he pulled Mark up onto his lap._

"_Yeah, bud," he said, glancing at the silver band again. "I am…"_

"_Hayley," Mrs. Rocca said. "What exactly did the doctor say after you took Tommy back?"_

_Hayley shrugged._

"_The same thing Tommy has been saying," she sighed. "He's fine. There are no apparent side effects besides the two dizzy spells he had the day after—but they determined those were from lack of sleep the night before and not having eaten anything in over twenty-four hours."_

"_Well, he should still rest," Mrs. Oliver insisted, turning back to Tommy. "And you are going to eat something as soon as lunch is ready."_

"_Alright," he said. "I will."_

_Mark shifted on his lap, climbing up to be closer to Tommy. As he bumped against Tommy's chest, Tommy grimaced and carefully shifted the four-year-old to another position. Madison and Vida frowned, wondering what that was about. Mark really wasn't heavy and it didn't look like he'd elbowed Tommy or anything like that. Jason noticed, too, leaning forward in his chair._

"_Alright, bro," he said. "What was that look for?"_

"_What look?" Tommy asked, trying to play innocent._

_Jason's eyes narrowed._

"_The one that said you were in pain," Jason snapped._

"_Jase, I'm fine," Tommy said. "Mark just caught me in the ribs with his elbow."_

"_No he didn't," Jason retorted. "Now what is going on?"_

_Mrs. Oliver was watching Tommy now, too, along with all of the other moms._

"_Nothing," Tommy insisted._

"_Tommy, take off your shirt," Mrs. Oliver said suspiciously. _

"_I am not taking off my shirt, mom," Tommy said, shaking his head as he continued to hold on to Mark._

"_You're hiding something," she said. "And I want to know what it is. Now take off your shirt."_

"_Mom!" Tommy exclaimed. "I am not taking off my shirt. There's nothing wrong with me."_

_Glaring at him, Mrs. Oliver stalked over and started to try and tug Tommy's shirt off. He held Mark as a shield, using him to keep his mother from pulling his shirt up. He was wearing a lightweight, long-sleeved black shirt._

"_Thomas!" Mrs. Oliver snapped. "Take your shirt off right this instant."_

"_No, mom," Tommy said. "I'm not taking it off."_

_Jason got up from his chair. Striding over, he scooped Mark off of Tommy's lap before Tommy could stop him. Handing Mark over to Trini, Jason crossed his arms as he looked expectantly at Tommy._

"_Take it off, bro," he growled. _

"_Jason," Tommy said, glaring at him as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not happening."_

"_Fine," Jason said. "Then we'll do this the hard way."_

_Jason grabbed Tommy and pinned him against the chair. _

"_Hayley!" Tommy exclaimed. "Aren't you going to help me?"_

"_Nope," she said, taking Jason's now empty chair. "This is all your own fault—you get to deal with the consequences."_

_Tommy glared at her as he tried to shove Jason off of him. But as Jason held Tommy down, Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Rocca each took a side. Grabbing Tommy's shirt, they tugged it up and over his head. As soon as Tommy's shirt was off, Jason let go and step back._

"_Tommy!" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed in shock. "When did you get those tattoos? And are those electrical burns?"_

_Tommy just groaned, his head falling back against the chair as he crossed his arms again. Madison and Vida stared, too, just as surprised as all of the mothers in the room. None of them had known Tommy had any tattoos, let alone the extensive collection they could see now that his shirt was off. And visible among the tattoos were several fading burns. They looked a lot more healed than they should have been after just two days, however. _

"_What's going on in here?" Mr. Oliver asked, walking into the living room._

_He looked at Tommy in surprise, not expecting to see him sitting there with his shirt off._

"_Hmm…" he said, studying his son. "Oh, is that the new one?"_

_He moved closer to take a look at one of the tattoos on Tommy's arm._

"_Yeah," Tommy sighed, shifting so his dad could see it._

"_You knew about them?" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed, looking at her husband in surprise._

"_What?" he said, straightening up. "Oh. Yes. I've known. I took him to get his first one."_

"_What?" she cried._

_Tommy rubbed a hand over his face, glancing at the silver band again._

"_He was eighteen," Mr. Oliver said, shrugging. "And he was going to get one anyways. I figured if I went with him I could at least make sure he didn't get anything he'd regret later or go somewhere he shouldn't. I haven't seen the whole collection, though…"_

_He turned to look at Tommy again, frowning when he saw the burns. Tommy quickly covered them up again. As his parents continued talking about the tattoos, he leaned over to Jason._

"_And this is why we don't tell them everything," he muttered quietly. "This is her freaking out about tattoos. Can you imagine what would happen if they found out about you-know-what?"_

_Madison and Vida exchanged confused glances. But they were quickly distracted as the conversation turned attention back to Tommy._

"_You should have told me," Mrs. Oliver was saying._

"_He's a grown man," Mr. Oliver sighed. "He can do what he wants."_

"_He's still my baby!" she exclaimed._

"_Mom, I'm not a baby anymore," Tommy protested._

"_I picked you," she responded. "You're mine and you're always going to be my baby. At least until I get grandchildren."_

_Tommy groaned as Jason burst out laughing._

"_Better get on that, bro," he snorted._

"_Shut up," Tommy growled._

"_Why?" Jason smirked. "You got yourself into this."_

"_Oh, is that so?" Tommy said, smirking back. "Well, then I'm not going down alone."_

_Jason frowned, not sure what Tommy meant by that._

"_Alright," Tommy said, glancing around the room. "If we're all going to get upset about my tattoos—why don't we talk about the three Jason has? Or the one Trini has on her ankle?"_

_The room went silent for a moment as attention shifted to Jason and Trini. They were both looking at Tommy in horror. Like him, they obviously hadn't told their parents about their tattoos._

"_Jason!" Mrs. Rocca exclaimed. "What is he talking about?"_

_Trini's mother was looking at her in complete shock. Madison and Vida both shrank back in their chair as the room started to get loud. They did not want to draw attention to themselves right now._

"_Yes, I have tattoos," Jason growled. "But I'm not the only one with secrets. Kat pierced her bellybutton and Aisha dyed her hair yellow."_

"_She did what?" Mrs. Campbell exclaimed. _

"_What did she pierce?" Mrs. Hillard cried at the same time._

"_Dyed it yellow," Jason smirked. "As in the color of Trini's shirt yellow. Just the underside so you can't see it when her hair is down, but it's yellow. And Kat pierced her bellybutton freshman year of college."_

_Aisha's mother took a deep breath, muttering about having a talk with her daughter. Mrs. Hillard was doing the same thing._

"_And don't forget Rocky," Jason continued, catching Mrs. Desantos' attention. "He's the one who brought beer to his eighteenth birthday party. Couldn't tell you where it came from, but he had it."_

_All of the mothers froze in shock._

"_I did not have any," Tommy immediately inserted. "Didn't touch a thing."_

"_Neither did I!" Trini exclaimed._

_Jason said nothing, trying to avoid his mother's gaze._

"_Jason?" she said, glaring at him._

"_Fine," he muttered. "But I only had one."_

"_Jason!" she shouted._

"_What?" he protested. "I'm not going to lie to you about it—what good would that do me now? And at least I wasn't arrested for public intoxication in college like Kim and Zach."_

_The noise volume in the room nearly tripled as everyone started talking at once. Laughing to himself, Tommy leaned over to talk to the girls as Jason and Trini argued with their mothers as well as all of the others. Hayley was in her chair watching everything with an amused look._

"_You know," Tommy said to Vida and Madison. "I was just trying to get all of the attention off of myself—but this is so much better."_

_The girls grinned, nodding in agreement._

"_And we're just going to stay quiet and watch the show," Vida smirked, exchanging glances with her sister. "Right, sis?"_

_Madison laughed. Through the chaos of everyone talking at once, a beeping was heard. Hayley and Tommy both jerked upright. As Tommy glanced at the band on his wrist again, Hayley leapt from her chair and headed for the door._

"_Bye, everyone!" she said, darting out without a pause._

_Her abrupt exit caught everyone's attention. Tommy was on his feet now, too, pulling his shirt back on._

"_Tommy, where are you going?" his mother frowned. "And what was that noise?"_

"_Pager," he said quickly. "Emergency. Gotta go."_

"_What could be so important that you have to leave?" she asked, placing herself in front of him. "You're a teacher and it's the weekend."_

_Tommy groaned, running a hand through his hair and glancing toward the door. Jason and Trini were both shaking their heads, exchanging knowing looks._

"_It's my research assistants," he said. "I left them in charge of something while I was gone for the afternoon. They'd only call me if it was an absolute emergency. As in someone is going to die if I don't get back to Reefside as soon as possible."_

"_What on earth do you have your assistants doing that could get someone killed?" Mrs. Oliver exclaimed._

_Tommy groaned, glancing at his wrist again._

"_Mom, they're cleaning up some of the mess left from that experiment I got hurt on," he said. "And apparently things aren't as under control as I thought. So I'm sorry, I love you, gotta go, bye."_

_Giving her a quick hug, he slipped around his mother and hurried out the door._

"_I thought he grew out of that after high school," Mrs. Oliver said, watching him go. "Always running off suddenly without a real explantion…"_

_Jason snorted, heading for the door after Tommy._

"_The rest of us did," he said, shaking his head. "Tommy tried—it didn't work."_

_Madison and Vida exchanged glances and then jumped up, running out after Jason and Tommy. By the time they reached the door, Tommy was finishing pulling on his shoes. He had his left hand up to his ear like he was holding a phone, though they couldn't see one from where they were standing._

"_Alright," he was saying. "Just hold tight—I'm on my way. Watch each other's backs."_

_Straightening up, he dropped his hand and reached for the door. Assuming he'd stuck his phone back in his pocket, they both ran to try and catch him as he headed out the door, Jason right behind him. Hearing them, Tommy glanced back and paused._

"_Oh!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry, girls. I've really gotta go, but take these first. Something to celebrate your new belts."_

_Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out two silver bands similar to the one he was wearing. They were slimmer than his and didn't have the etching on it. Instead one said Vida and the other said Madison._

"_Been doing some experimenting with metals," Tommy said, handing them to the girls. "Thought you might like them—something to remind you that one of us is always watching out for you. Sorry I've got to cut the visit short, but I'll be back soon."_

_Grinning at them, he turned and ran for the jeep. Hayley had pulled it around and was waiting to take off. Madison, Vida, and Jason watched as Tommy bolted down to meet her. Instead of running around the car, however, he jumped and slid over the hood. _

"_Just get me to my ATV!" they heard him call to Hayley as he landed on the other side of the jeep._

_He also didn't bother opening the door, vaulting over it and into his seat. Jason rolled his eyes._

"_Now he's just showing off," he muttered. _

_As Hayley peeled out, another car came pulling up. Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Tanya climbed out, frowning as they watched Tommy and Hayley disappearing down the street. The girls and Jason waited at the front door for them._

"_Why are they in such a hurry?" Adam asked as they walked up. "I thought Tommy was here for the afternoon."_

"_He got a call," Jason said. "One that couldn't wait."_

_The four arrivals exchanged knowing looks, but didn't say anything else about it. _

"_He's in trouble anyways," Vida smirked. _

"_Nice," Rocky grinned. "What did he do?"_

"_He didn't tell anyone about his tattoos," Madison said. "Or the electrical burns…"_

"_Electrical burns?" Tanya repeated, frowning as she glanced at Jason._

"_I'll explain later," he said. "You know—in private?"_

_All four nodded as the door opened behind Jason. The girls exchanged looks and shrugged. They were used to the cryptic way their brother and his friends communicated most of the time. _

"_Hey, kids," Mr. Oliver said. "If you want to eat anything you may want to go around back. If you come in this way you'll never make it to the food."_

"_Why?" Aisha asked._

"_Jason may have spilled a few secrets in an attempt to make his seem like less of a problem," Mr. Oliver said. "All I caught was something about tattoos, yellow hair, underage drinking, and public intoxication. Not really sure who's guilty of what, but no one is happy."_

_Aisha, Rocky, Tanya, and Adam all glared at Jason who just shrugged sheepishly._

"_Rockford Desantos!" Mrs. Desantos yelled, having seen his car out the window._

"_Run!" Rocky exclaimed, bolting around the house toward the backyard. _

_Madison and Vida laughed as the others, including Jason, followed his lead. Deciding to try and avoid interrogation themselves, they followed the older group around the back as Mr. Oliver shut the front door. _


	38. Chapter 38

"So what do you two want for dinner?" Mrs. Rocca asked. "I can make something her at home or we can go out to eat when your father gets home. Our treat for you visit home."

Madison and Vida glanced at each other before answering.

"Here is good," Vida said, turning back to their mother.

"We haven't had a whole lot of home cooked meals lately," Madison added. "We use a microwave a lot…"

Mrs. Rocca smiled, shaking her head.

"I'm just glad you finally came home for a visit," she said. "It's been far too long since I've seen my little girls. And I still can't believe what you did to your hair, Vida. Did you really have to make it that shade of pink?"

Madison and Vida rolled their eyes, but smiled as Vida shrugged sheepishly.

"Now," Mrs. Rocca said, turning to look in the fridge and cabinets. "Let me see what I have and you two can decide what you want to eat—I may have to make a trip to the store."

The girls nodded, leaning on the counter as they sat on their stools, watching their mother check for something to make. They'd just gotten home the night before, surprising their parents with a visit. At the moment, they were planning on staying several days. Everything had slowed down in Briarwood—finally—and so they were taking a vacation from training and ranger duties to visit their family. They had missed Christmas by about two weeks, but they figured this was better than nothing.

Enjoying their time off, the twins had slept in late and enjoyed a lazy morning followed by a lunch made of whatever leftovers they could find in the fridge. And, even though the girls hadn't actually said how long they'd be staying, their mother had started making all sorts of plans. She was excited to have her girls home after so long. The girls were just hoping Jason wouldn't show up. They were counting on him being gone for a few days like Mrs. Rocca had said he would be when she had talked to them earlier that week.

"How does lasagna sound?" Mrs. Rocca asked, turning around.

"Yum," Vida grinned, Madison nodding in agreement.

"Wonderful," their mother smiled. "I just need to make a quick trip to the store to a get a few things. Do you two want to come with me?"

The twins shook their heads.

"That's alright, mom," Vida said. "I think we'd both just like to relax here. Being lazy is nice for a change."

"You must be working too hard if you never get a lazy afternoon," Mrs. Rocca commented, starting to write out a list.

The girls exchanged glances.

"We've just got a lot of responsibility now," Madison said casually. "Between classes and work there's a lot going on."

Mrs. Rocca nodded.

"And what about you, young lady?" she asked, looking at Vida. "Are you signed up to take classes next semester?"

Vida ducked her head.

"No," she mumbled. "I've got other stuff and I know I can't multi-task as well as Maddy can…"

"What other stuff?" Mrs. Rocca frowned.

"It's kind of like an internship," Madison said quickly, covering for Vida when she floundered for an answer. "Umm… we can talk about it more at dinner with dad. Okay?"

Sighing, Mrs. Rocca let it go for the moment. Finishing up her list, she said goodbye to her daughters and headed out to the car. The girls stood up, heading for the living room.

"Thanks, sis," Vida said the moment the front door closed. "But what are we going to tell them at dinner? I can't exactly tell them I'm a wizard and a knight-in-training…"

Madison shrugged as they walked into the living room.

"I don't know," she said. "But we have until dinner to figure it out."

Vida groaned, flopping onto the couch and stretching out across it.

"So much for relaxing," she muttered. "Maybe we should just tell them…"

"Ok, fine," Madison said, raising an eyebrow. "But you get to explain."

Vida grimaced, shaking her head.

"I think I hate that idea more," she grumbled. "Let's just come up with a cover story…"

Laughing, Madison grabbed the remote and sat down on the couch. Vida pulled her legs back so her sister could sit, too. Turning on a movie, they watched it absently as they tossed ideas for a cover story back and forth. Mrs. Rocca had been gone for about twenty minutes when they heard the front door open. Expecting it to be their mother, neither girl moved. But it was someone else who started calling from the hallway.

"Mom! Did Mark leave his Power Ranger backpack here?" Jason shouted from down the hall, his voice growing closer. "He says he left it here the other day and he's insisting that he had to have it to show Grandma and Grandpa Kwan—"

He rounded the corner into the living room, stopping in surprise to see Madison and Vida there. They stared at the doorway in shock—they hadn't expected to see him. But when he took another step forward, they both sprang to their feet.

"What are you doing here?" Vida demanded, glaring at him with her arms crossed.

"Getting Mark's toys," Jason growled back. "Better question—what are the two of you doing here? Don't you belong back in Briarwood with the rest of them?"

"We're visiting mom and dad," Madison said shortly. "You have no right to tell us we can't."

"Besides," Vida scoffed. "We're not the ones with dangerous friends. Still hanging out with Tommy?"

"When he's home," Jason said stiffly. "I don't discard friendships on a whim, especially when he needs me."

Madison took a deep breath.

"Jason, please," she said. "We told you what he did. Why can't you see that he's not a good person to be around? We know it's hard. He fooled us, too. But he could really hurt you…"

"And what about Trini?" Vida asked, trying another direction. "Does she know about all of this? Have you told her your best friend is an evil power ranger?"

Jason scowled at them.

"Like I told you the last time," he snapped. "You have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to Tommy or any of this. And of course Trini knows what he was—why wouldn't she?"

"So she knows and she's ok with it?" Vida said in surprise. "That doesn't seem like her—she'd never stay loyal to someone who hurts other people."

She'd been hoping to find a weak spot with Trini. It hadn't worked.

"Trini's loyalties lie with me," Jason growled. "Like they always have. She's never questioned my decisions when it counted—maybe the two of you should try following her example."

The girls stared at him, momentarily lost for words. Vida took a deep breath.

"Jason, let us—" she started to say.

"Found them, daddy," a young voice interrupted.

Vida stopped in surprise and Jason glanced down to see Mark tugging on his shirt. None of them had heard the little boy come in the house. He was holding the small red Power Ranger backpack he kept all of his Power Ranger figures in.

"That's great, Mark," Jason said, trying to keep his irritation at his sisters out of his voice. "Now go back out to the car. I'll be out in a minute."

But Mark had seen Madison and Vida.

"Auntie Maddy! Auntie V!" he exclaimed, smiling.

They smiled back and he started to run to them, but Jason stopped him.

"Go to the car, Mark," Jason said more firmly. "Now."

"But daddy," Mark protested.

"Now, Mark," Jason said shortly. "No arguing."

"Fine," Mark pouted, kicking at the ground as he turned and headed for the door. "Not fair… I want to see Auntie Maddy and Auntie V, too… I never get to see them anymore…"

The little boy disappeared down the hall and a moment later they heard the door shut. Madison and Vida glared at Jason.

"Why did you do that?" Vida demanded.

"Because I don't want you anywhere near my son—or my daughter," Jason growled, glaring back as he crossed his arms. "Not until you get your act together. I'm not risking their well-being with your nonsense."

"That's not fair!" Madison cried. "We would never hurt them. You should know that."

"I thought I did," he said. "Until you attacked Tommy."

"He had it coming," Vida snapped back. "Jason, we haven't even met Rose!"

"And you're not going to anytime soon," he said, not budging. "Not until I think I can trust you again."

The girls looked at him with hurt expressions.

"Jason, come on," Madison pleaded. "You can't keep us away from them forever."

"Watch me," he said shortly.

The front door opened again, actually catching their attention this time.

"Girls, I'm home," Mrs. Rocca called from down the hall. "Do you want to help me make dinner?"

Her voice cut off for a moment, meaning she must have stepped into the kitchen. The girls exchanged looks and then looked expectantly at Jason. But he wasn't even trying to hide his glares as their mother came down the hall.

"And is your brother here?" she asked from the hall. "I think I saw his car—oh. Jason."

She had rounded the corner into the living room to find Jason standing there, glaring at his sisters.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked, glancing between her children. "Jason, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to visit Trini's parents for a few days. Are you here by yourself?"

"On our way out," he said, not taking his eyes off the girls. "Had to stop and get Mark's power rangers before he had a complete meltdown and ran into these two. Trini's in the car with the kids."

Mrs. Rocca nodded slowly, still eyeing the three siblings.

"Well," she said slowly. "I'm going to give you three a moment to settle whatever is going on between you while I go say hello to Trini. I'll be back in a few minutes."

No one said anything as she left the room.

"So you couldn't even pretend for mom?" Vida snapped the minute the front door closed. "She doesn't need to be involved in this."

"And she isn't," Jason said. "Siblings fight. She doesn't need to know why—unless you two really want her to know. But I'm not telling her my secret, and don't think she'll believe you if you try spilling it for me."

Madison gasped suddenly, her eyes widening.

"Please tell me you don't let Tommy come over here," Madison said. "You don't, do you?"

Jason scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Tommy can visit if he wants to," he said. "Mom doesn't care and neither does dad. Tommy usually swings b y to say hi when he's in Angel Grove."

"Jason, you have to keep him away!" Vida snapped. "He's dangerous—especially for people without powers like ours. He could hurt them!"

"Tommy's not evil and isn't going to hurt anyone!" Jason snapped back. "What part of that aren't you understanding? That happened a long time ago. It's over now. End of story."

"We saw the dark magic, Jason," Madison said. "It's still there. Nothing is over."

"Oh, it's over," Jason said. "As much as it ever can be—unless the five of you wake it back up because you can't keep those sticks to yourselves. So drop it."

The girls looked at each other, silently arguing for a moment. Finally, they both nodded. Taking a deep breath, Madison turned back to Jason.

"Jason," she said hesitantly and slowly. "Let us help you. I—we—think that Tommy has you under a spell. And if that's true, we can help you. We can free you and stop him before he can hurt—"

"Enough!" Jason roared, dropping his arms and clenching his fists. "I'm done listening to the nonsense. I've tried explaining—we all have. You two just aren't getting it. You aren't listening! And you know what? I'm done with this. You are and always will be my sisters—I will never deny that. But Tommy is my best friend and we've been through a lot together and you need to respect that, no matter what your prejudices are. I will not turn my back on him just because the two of you refuse to see sense."

"Big brother, please," Vida begged, reaching toward him. "Let us help you."

"Don't," Jason snapped, jerking away. "I am not under a spell and haven't been in a really long time. Every choice I make now and action I take is mine and mine alone except where they effect the rest. You are not allowed to blame anything on Tommy. He's held to the same standard I am. The same standard you should be following. And he tried explain all this when he came to visit, but neither of you even gave him a chance. As far as he knew, you could have been waiting to attack him but he went anyways—shouldn't that tell you anything?"

He took a deep breath, continuing before they could say anything in protest.

"And this is what I've decided," he said grimly. "And don't think you can get around this—my word is final on this matter. Until you and your team can figure yourselves out, consider yourselves on your own. I had hoped for a moment when I first walked in here that maybe I could get you to listen, but I was obviously wrong. You are so stuck on what Tommy was that you refuse to see who he is and, until that mentality changes, I will not change my orders. So don't bother contacting me or anyone else unless it's with an apology and a promise that you are ready to listen."

"Jason—" Madison started to plead.

"Don't, Madison," he said, shaking his head. "You can't talk me out of this one. Right now I want nothing to do with your magic—or you. Not like this. So, until you get your heads out of the sand, this is goodbye."

Spinning, he stalked out of the room and toward the front door.

"Jason!" Vida shouted after him.

He didn't stop or answer.

"Fine!" Vida yelled in frustration, her own fists clenched now. "Then go! We don't need you anyways."

The only response was the slamming of the front door.

"Now what?" Madison said after a moment. "How can we save him if he won't let us help?"

Vida sighed, shaking her head.

"Jason doesn't want our help," she said. "So, short of kidnapping him, there's nothing we can do. It's beyond our power and ability."

"I know," Madison mumbled. "I just hate this… I want our brother back the way he was…"

"Yeah, and what's worse is not we have to tell mom something," Vida grumbled. "Either we tell her we aren't talking and try and come up with a reason why or we pretend that everything is just fine… Personally I vote for just going back to Briarwood. We saw mom and dad and gave them their Christmas presents last night, so we wouldn't miss anything important."

"Yeah, I guess," Madison said reluctantly. "I just hate doing that to them after not coming home for so long…"

Vida nodded and then groaned as something dawned on her.

"Come on, sis," she said. "We've gotta pack and get out of here before Jason tells Tommy we're here alone—Reefside isn't that far away."

Madison's eyes widened.

"Let's go, then," she said quickly. "We'll just have to tell mom something came up. She's not going to be happy…"

"But we can't risk Tommy coming after us here with mom and dad around," Vida sighed. "So we have to run…"

In complete agreement, the girls darted up the stairs to pack so they could leave Angel Grove.

Outside, Jason stalked over to his car to find his mother smiling and chatting with Trini and the kids. Trini caught a glimpse of his stormy face over his mother's shoulder and frowned. Mrs. Rocca turned to see what she was looking at, frowning herself when she saw him coming.

"Jason, is everything alright?" she asked in concern.

"It's fine," he said shortly. "But we've gotta get going. We'll see you sometime after we get back."

Not giving his mother a chance to protest, Jason gave her a quick hug and kiss and climbed into the car.

"But what about your sisters?" she managed to get in before he could shut the door. "I saw your faces. Did you patch things up?"

Jason grimaced.

"There's nothing to fix," he said. "They're just being stubborn and irrational. But I'm not really in the mood to discuss it."

"But—" Mrs. Rocca started to protest.

"Love you, mom," Jason interrupted. "Bye."

Slamming the door shut, he put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. He knew he'd have to apologize to his mother later, but for the moment he really didn't care. For a few moments it was silent as he fumed, glaring at the road ahead.

"Jason, what happened?" Trini asked a few minutes later, breaking the silence. "Did you know your sisters were going to be there?"

"Not a clue," he muttered. "And as for what happened, they're still stuck on Tommy being—well, you know…"

He glanced in the mirror at Mark as he spoke. Mark was the reason he hadn't spoken plainly, not wanting his son to hear or understand anything he shouldn't at his age. The little boy had emptied his Power Ranger backpack onto the seat next to him and was happily playing with some of his favorites, including the green and white original rangers. Now that he was older, and had such an active interest in the rangers, Trini and Jason were even more careful about what they said and did in his hearing. They didn't want to chance him finding out anything about their past as rangers until he was old enough to keep the secret, though they would both rather he just never found out.

"I still can't believe they were the ones responsible," Trini sighed, shaking her head. "And they've had time to cool down—I was hoping they'd be ready to listen…"

Jason sighed.

"So was I…" he said quietly. "So was I…"

After Jason took off, Mrs. Rocca headed back inside to see if she could get any answers out of her daughters. To her surprise, as she walked down the hallway, Madison and Vida came bolting down the stairs with their bags in hand.

"Girls, where are you going?" she asked, frowning. "We were going to make dinner."

"Sorry, mom," Vida said quickly as they both reached for their shoes. "Something came up in Briarwood and we gotta get home."

"This is still your home, too," she gently reminded them.

"We know, mom," Madison sighed, looking at her regretfully. "And we really are sorry…But it's important for V's internship and we need to get back right away. We promise to visit again as soon as we can, ok?"

Shoes on, the girls straightened up and grabbed their bags again. Giving their mother a quick hug and kiss goodbye, they headed for the door.

"We'll call when we get home," Vida called over her shoulder. "Tell dad we love him."

"Love you!" Madison added before the door closed behind them.

And, just like that, the house was quiet again. Mrs. Rocca sighed, staring at the door for a moment. This was not how she planned their first visit in over a year. The twins, and Jason, were going to be getting an earful as soon as she could get one of them on the phone. But, knowing none of them would answer now, she sighed again and headed back to the kitchen to put her groceries away.


	39. Chapter 39

So we knew this was the turning point people would really decide if you liked the story or not so if you're still with us, thank you! if not well then so long best wishes. We have a little bit more to go before things start coming to a head but don't worry it's getting closer. :) For those of you who are getting the idea we are trying to make one side of the rangers the hero of this story, sorry we're not. Everyone has a different opinion and idea just like real life, and like in real life no one is perfect... We are going off of the everyone is getting to stuck on their own point of view, and no one is thinking clearly with all the personal connections. :) (and yes stubbornness runs in the family) Thanks for reading everyone till next time.

* * *

It was turning into a lazy day at the Rock Porium. Since it was slow, the rangers had found themselves getting slightly distracted from their normal duties. Xander was lounging in his favorite chair, supervising the rest of them. Vida was at the DJ tables dancing around and enjoying herself. Chip, who had stopped any semblance of actual cleaning some time before, was dancing around with the broom while the others laughed. Madison was sitting at the counter, bobbing her head to the music as she worked on editing some video on her laptop. Even Leelee and Phineas were just curled up in a chair together, giggling as they talked quietly and watched Chip. So busy with what they were doing, none of them noticed the door open.

"So is this what happens when I'm not here?" a familiar voice asked. "Shouldn't you guys be training? Or, at the very least, working? Cause this doesn't look like work."

Everyone stopped what they were doing, looking around in surprise. Nick was standing just inside the door, arms crossed as he looked around the room.

"Nick!" Madison cried, nearly knocking her computer off the counter as she leapt off her stool and ran to greet him. "You're home!"

He laughed, catching her in a hug as she threw herself at him. And then everyone else was running to greet him in excitement, too. Vida dropped her head phones, leaving the music playing. Xander, Leelee, and Phineas abandoned their chairs and Chip turned to join them. But Chip, in his excitement, tripped over the broom he'd been dancing with and went sprawling on the ground. Everyone started laughing.

"You alright?" Nick grinned, watching Chip.

"Oh, I'm fine," Chip said sheepishly, quickly getting up. "You're back!"

He joined the rest of the group and soon they were all talking and laughing, everyone asking questions at once and barely letting Nick get a word in edgewise. Hearing the commotion, Toby finally came out of his office to see what was going on.

"Well, well," he said, hands on his hips. "If it isn't my wayward employee. Finally decided to come home?"

"Had to," Nick smiled, glancing at Madison. "Promised someone I would."

She blushed, ducking her head as Vida elbowed her and her teammates grinned. The door opened again, admitting Udonna and Leanbow. The rangers greeted them excitedly, happy to have their mentors back, too.

"It is good to see you, rangers," Udonna smiled. "Have you been studying and training while we've been gone?"

"Of course," Xander said. "Nearly every day. We do take time off once in a while, though."

"Or a lot of the while," Vida muttered, elbowing him as she smirked.

Xander shot a glare back at her, but Udonna didn't comment.

"Anyways," Nick said, his arm around Madison's shoulders now. "We're heading back to Rootcore to get settled back in. You guys coming?"

"You bet," Chip grinned.

"Yeah, of course," Vida agreed.

"Why wouldn't we?" Xander asked. "Leelee, can you and Phineas close tonight? We probably won't be back."

"We want to catch up," Madison added, giving their friends a pleading look.

"Go ahead," Leelee smiled. "Have fun. Phineas and I can handle the shop."

Phineas nodded in agreement.

"We got this," he said.

Thanking the pair profusely, the rangers headed out the door with their newly returned teammates. When the all reached Rootcore, Daggeron and Clare were just as excited to see Udonna, Leanbow, and Nick. After all of the initial greetings were over, the entire team settled down to catch up. Nick went first, telling them about the trip to visit his adopted parents with Udonna and Leanbow's help. The trip had gone well and his parents had been happy to learn that he'd found his birth family.

"So what about you guys?" Nick asked when he was finished, looking around at his friends. "What have you been up to?"

"I've been working on my music," Vida said, pretending to be listening to headphones for a moment as she grinned.

"Working at the shop," Madison added. "And I've taken a lot of new video. We didn't want you to miss too much while you were gone."

Nick smiled gratefully at her and she blushed.

"And don't forget training," Xander said. "Daggeron was determined to keep us on our toes while you were gone. Something about not needing any lazy wizards lounging around."

Daggeron raised an eyebrow at him as the others giggled, but then gave in with a smile. They had all been working hard because it was important to them. The teasing was all in good fun.

"I am proud of all of you for working so hard while we were gone," Leanbow said. "Daggeron has kept us informed as best he could. It is an honorable thing you are doing, continuing your duties as rangers thought the fight is over. All of you will be great wizards and knights someday."

"Thanks, Leanbow," Vida said. "I don't think any of us could imagine a different life anymore. This is who we are now and we don't want to change that."

The others nodded in agreement. They had all begun planning their lives around being knights and wizards and living in the magical realm on a more permanent basis—even Madison, who was the only one of them currently still attending regular college classes, too.

"They have all improved wonderfully," Clare beamed. "You should see some of the potions Chip has helped me make. He has a talent for them."

They all looked at Chip who was fiddling with something in his lap. Realizing everyone was looking at him, his head shot up.

"And is there something going on with you, Chip?" Udonna asked, looking at the yellow ranger. "You have been strangely silent since we got to Rootcore. Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine," Chip said quickly.

"Then what have you been doing?" Leanbow asked. "We haven't heard from you at all."

"That's because whatever he's been doing is a secret," Xander said. "He won't tell any of us."

"Xander is right," Madison agreed, glancing at Chip. "He's been up to something since shortly after you left, but we haven't been able to figure out what."

Nick frowned as he looked at Chip, but the other ranger's face turned red and he looked down at his lap.

"We could if we could just get that notebook away from him," Vida grumbled. "But he catches us every time we try…"

Daggeron sighed, shaking his head. He'd been witness to several of their attempts—and the results. As had Clare, who smiled as she glanced at the young rangers. But Udonna, Leanbow, and Nick exchanged confused glances.

"What notebook?" Nick asked.

"The one he's been scribbling in for the past month or so," Vida said. "It started about a week after you left and he hasn't let up."

"We thought he might be planning something for Christmas," Madison said. "But Christmas passed and he's still at it…"

Nick looked back at Chip who now had small yellow notebook in his lap.

"Come on, Chip?" he said. "What's going on?"

"Well," Chip said hesitantly, glancing around at his teammates. "I kind of have an idea, but I don't know if I want to tell you cause you might think it's stupid…"

Vida, who was sitting next to him, leaned over and bumped her shoulder against his.

"Chip, your ideas might be crazy sometimes," she said. "But they're never stupid."

He smiled gratefully at her.

"Alright," he said, a little brighter now. "But you can't laugh at me."

"We won't," Nick assured him. "We swear. Now what are you planning?"

Chip didn't say anything for a moment and then he took a deep breath.

"I want to meet other power rangers," he burst out. "So I've been writing letters to the different teams about if they'll meet us."

There was a brief silence and Chip looked around anxiously. But no one laughed. The rest of his team actually looked genuinely intrigued by the idea, especially the other three who had grown up in Angel Grove.

"I mean, we're rangers, too, now," he persisted, getting excited now. "Why can't we meet them?"

"I think it's a wonderful idea, Chip," Udonna said approvingly.

Leanbow and Daggeron nodded in agreement. Clare smiled.

"It really is," she said. "Think of what you could learn from them."

"The rangers do have a long history," Leanbow said. "It would be good for all of you to learn more about your legacy from those who came before you. Much of their history is separate from ours here in the magical realm, though they do intersect at points."

Chip, who was extremely relieved that no one had immediately shot down his idea, looked at his friends to see what they had to say. So far, none of them had said a word about his idea. But when he looked at them they were all grinning.

"It's a great idea, Chip," Vida smiled.

"And maybe we can even meet the originals," Madison added. "And finally thank them for everything they did when we were little. Like saving us from the gree—"

She cut off, momentarily reminded about Tommy and their discovery of his powers. Vida flinched, too. That he of all people had been the guilty one still hurt. Both girls had been very close to him for a long time and it was still difficult to think of him as responsible for hurting so many people. And the growing rift between them and their brother was just making it worse, as evidenced by their visit home just the week before.

"So how many have you written?" Nick asked, quickly changing the subject. "And who have you sent them to?"

Chip sighed, his smile slipping.

"Well," he said slowly. "I've written letters to every team on earth—but I haven't sent any…"

"Why not?" Xander frowned. "It is because of us?"

Chip shook his head.

"No," he said quickly. "Nothing like that. I just don't know where to send them. It's not like I know who they are…"

He trailed off and the room fell silent. None of them had thought about that. Chip sighed again.

"I know I can send one to the Space Rangers," Chip said, explaining further. "But I was afraid of it getting lost in all of their fan mail—or them not thinking it was real. And I might know where to send letters for Lightspeed Rescue and Time Force, too, but…"

"But where do you send the rest?" Madison finished quietly when he trailed off again.

Now all of the younger rangers just looked disappointed. They had all been really excited for a few minutes. Their mentors, however, were exchanging looks.

"Do you think the Space Rangers would pass on the rest?" Vida asked.

The others shrugged. But Udonna was watching them thoughtfully.

"There may be a way," she said after a moment. "With the help of a little magic."

"A way to find out who they are?" Nick asked doubtfully.

Udonna shook her head.

"No," she said firmly. "To steal a ranger's identity in such a way would be an abuse of our power. But we can ask the letters to find them."

The younger rangers exchanged confused glances as Leanbow and Daggeron nodded in understanding. Clare also looked a little confused, but she just waited for Udonna to explain.

"Alright, you lost me," Xander said, shaking his head. "We can't send a letter to someone if we don't know who they are or where to find them—can we?"

"There is a spell," Udonna said slowly. "One that was originally created to call for aid of unknown origins, but it should do for the task you have."

The five young rangers exchanged looks again.

"How does it work?" Chip asked.

Udonna smiled. Daggeron and Leanbow both stood.

"We will leave you to the lesson," Leanbow said.

As both men turned to leave, Clare stood also.

"And I have potions to make," she said. "And people to visit. So I shall leave you to your letters."

Smiling, she drifted off across Rootcore. Leanbow and Daggeron disappeared from the room, already discussing what Daggeron had covered in their training over Leanbow's absence. Udonna turned to Chip.

"Do you have the letters?" Udonna asked.

Nodding, Chip hopped up.

"Just a minute," he said, bolting across the room to where his flyer was resting.

Reaching into the storage cubby underneath, he returned a moment later with a bundle of letters tied together with a string. He untied them and set the letters down on the center of the table. Each of them was sealed with the Mystic Force seal, but all that was written on the fronts was the name of a ranger team.

"Chose one of them and place it in front of you," Udonna instructed. "And then take out your wand."

Chip did so, picking up the envelope addressed to the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and setting it down in front of him. Everyone else took out their wands, too, as all of them wanted to learn the spell. With everyone ready, Udonna went over the spell and explained how it worked. After she was sure they all had the words correctly, she made sure to double check that the contents of the letters wouldn't reveal anything too important should they fall in to the wrong hands. Then she told Chip he could give it a try.

"Now remember, Chip," Udonna said. "You must keep the person to whom you want the letter to go fixed firmly in your mind as you repeat the spell or it may not reach its intended destination."

"Right," Chip nodded. "I want it to go to the original Might Morphin' red ranger. It needs to go to him."

Concentrating hard, Chip didn't take his eyes off of the letter as he said the spell and pointed his wand at the letter. As he finished speaking, there was a small flash of light and the letter vanished from sight.

"It worked!" he exclaimed. "Well, it disappeared…"

"It is on its way," Udonna smiled. "As to the destination, you will have to wait for a response as there is no way to determine where the letter actually arrived."

"Which is why you made sure it didn't say anything that might endanger our identities," Madison said.

Udonna nodded.

"So should we send the rest of them?" Xander asked.

"Yes!" Chip exclaimed, reaching for the rest of the letters. "We'll send them to the reds of each of the team. That way we know we're all thinking the same thing when we do the spell."

He passed out a couple to each of his teammates and kept the last one for himself. It wasn't long before eight of the nine remaining letters had been sent on their way. The last one, however, was causing Xander some grief. He'd sent one, but the one he was trying to send now just wouldn't go. Every time he cast the spell the letter would flicker but stayed where it was.

"I don't understand," he muttered, trying again. "Why isn't this working? The other one went just fine."

"Maybe you're not concentrating hard enough?" Chip suggested as they all watched the letter flicker in place again.

"But I am!" Xander protested, glaring at the letter. "Would you just go somewhere?"

He jabbed his wand at the letter as he snapped the spell again and it suddenly disappeared. For a brief moment they all started to celebrate, and then it reappeared on the floor a few feet away. Xander threw his hands up in the air.

"I give up," he muttered. "Someone else take a shot."

"You're probably just frustrated and saying it wrong," Vida said, rolling her eyes as she picked the letter up off of the floor. "Let me try."

Setting the letter back on the table, she gave the spell a try. But she got the same result.

"Ha!" Xander said. "See, it wasn't just me. Something is wrong."

"That is odd," Udonna frowned as they all studied the letter on the table.

"Who's that one for, Chip?" Nick asked.

Chip picked it up to examine it.

"Ninja Storm," he said, frowning at the envelope. "I don't get it. Why won't this one go? It's the same as all of the others…"

They all looked at Udonna, but she was just as confused.

"I am not certain," she said slowly. "Though there is a chance they have some sort of protection cast around them that prevents magic from affecting them in certain ways—therefore blocking the letters. The world of the ninja is one I am unfamiliar with. I think, for now, that you should just leave the letter be and wait for the others to gain a response. Perhaps one of them can explain it to you after you meet."

"Yeah… I guess," Chip said.

"Don't be too disappointed, Chip," Nick said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We sent the rest of the letters. So let's wait for a response and go from there."

Chip smiled.

"And in the meantime, let's show Udonna what we've learned," Vida said.

With everyone in agreement, the rangers all headed to find Daggeron and Leanbow leaving the last letter on the table.


	40. Chapter 40

Wes sighed, staring at the paperwork on his desk. This was his least favorite part of his job, having to fill out forms and file things. He'd much rather be training or out in the field. But Eric insisted he take a turn at everything as co-leader.

"This is boring," he muttered to himself, shuffling the papers around.

He was finally reaching for a pen again when there was a small pop and something white appeared in mid-air, falling toward his desk. Yelping in surprise, Wes jumped backward and tipped his chair. He fell to the ground with a crash, quickly scrambling to his feet as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Sitting on his desk on top of his papers was a white envelope.

"What on earth?" he muttered, taking a hesitant step toward it.

With the way it had appeared out of nowhere, he wasn't sure if he should touch it or not. Training and past experience with unusual things said it probably wasn't a good idea, but he didn't want to leave it just lying on his desk. Quick footsteps in the hall announced Eric just moments before he came rushing in. He'd heard the crash of Wes falling and came to see what was going on.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," he comment, frowning at Wes. "You know, pretending to see things and knocking things over isn't going to get you out of the paperwork. You have to do your share."

Wes rolled his eyes.

"It's not that," he said. "It's that."

He pointed at the letter. Eric raised an eyebrow.

"The envelope?" he smirked. "What, are you scared of mail now?"

"No!" Wes exclaimed. "That letter just appeared out of nowhere right in front of my face and fell onto my desk. I have no idea where it came from—or who it's from."

"So let's find out," Eric said, walking past Wes and reaching for the letter.

"Eric, don't—nevermind…" Wes said, too late to stop his partner from picking up the letter.

"See, nothing wrong with it," Eric said, turning around with the letter in hand. "So why were you staring at it like a bomb, again?"

"Because it could have been," Wes retorted. "You can't constantly just go around and jump into a situation without knowing what's going on—like when you stuck your hand in that box that got you your morpher. That turned out alright, but one of these days your impulsive decisions is going to come back to bite you in the butt."

Eric snorted.

"Hasn't happened yet," he smirked, examining the letter briefly before holding it out to Wes. "It's addressed to you."

Glaring at Eric, Wes took the letter to look at it. The letter was indeed addressed to him, albeit a little abstractly.

"It's addressed to the 'Red Time Force Ranger'," he said, frowning as he looked back up at Eric.

"And that would be you," Eric said drily, crossing his arms. "So are you going to open it?"

Wes glared at him again, but opened the envelope. Pulling out the letter inside, he read it quickly, his face growing grim as he realized what it was.

"What is it?" Eric asked when Wes looked up again.

"It's from Mystic Force," Wes said. "They want to meet us."

"Well, that's not going to happen anytime soon," Eric commented. "I don't really have a burning desire to deal with an angry Jason right now—or anytime, really."

Wes nodded in agreement, handing the letter to Eric so he could read it.

"So how do we respond?" Wes asked, rubbing a hand over his face. "We're not supposed to be in contact with them."

Eric looked up from the letter, smirking.

"I got this," he said, heading for the door to go back to his office.

"Hold up," Wes protested, following him. "Jason specifically said not to make them mad."

"Relax, pretty boy," Eric retorted. "I'm not going to make them mad."

"Then what are you doing?" Wes frowned, following Eric into his office.

His question was answered a moment later when Eric opened a filing cabinet and started pulling out some papers. Seeing what he was getting out, Wes started laughing as Eric smirked.

* * *

"Guys! We got a letter!" Chip exclaimed, bursting into the apartment. "We finally got a response!"

Nick, Xander, Vida, and Madison looked up as Chip skidded to a stop in the middle of the nearly empty apartment, waving a letter around. They were all in the middle of officially moving into Rootcore. With their leases expiring in a few days, the rangers were all moving their things to their new home. They had finished with Chip and Xander's apartment the day before, so now they were tackling Vida and Madison's. Chip had left for a little while to feed Fireheart and check in at the Rock Porium. Toby had been alright with them being gone for moving as long as they swung by once in a while to make sure things weren't crazy—though he had still been making comments about absent employees again.

"From who?" Madison asked. "One of the other ranger teams?"

"Yes!" Chip said eagerly. "Though it's weird…"

The other four frowned, exchanging confused glances.

"What's weird?" Xander asked.

"They sent it to the Rock Porium," Chip said. "How did they know to send it there?"

"Well, word has gotten around a little that we hang out there," Vida pointed out. "And you know they've probably been watching us from the beginning."

"Sis is right," Madison said. "I'm sure it's nothing."

They had all stopped working for the moment, their focus shifting to the letter.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Chip said. "So can I open it?"

He looked at Nick expectantly, wanting his opinion on the matter.

"Yeah, go ahead," Nick said after a moment. "We can take a break. Just be ready."

Nick wasn't too concerned about the letter being a trap, but he knew it was always possible. Though their enemy had been defeated, they would never be completely without enemies for the rest of their lives. It came with being a Power Ranger. Excited, Chip started tearing open the envelope.

"You know, it's a lot thicker than I thought it would be," he commented. "But I guess that just means they have more to say."

Opening the envelope, he pulled out the papers inside. Frowning, he started glancing through them.

"What is this?" he muttered, flipping through the stack.

Reaching over, Vida snatched the pile of papers out of his hand, taking a look herself. Sighing, she looked up at Chip as Xander snagged a couple of the papers out of her hands.

"Sorry, Chip," she said. "But it's just an application for the Silver Guardians…It's not a letter…"

"And they sent pamphlets," Xander added, examining the ones he was holding.

"Oh! Here's something," Madison said, catching sight of a white piece of paper in her sister's hands. "I think it's a letter—oh…"

She'd scanned it quickly and started shaking her head.

"What does it say?" Chip asked hopefully, trying to hold on to his excitement.

Sighing, Madison read it out loud.

"Thank you for contacting the Silver Guardians Program," she read. "We appreciate your interest and are always accepting applications. Please send back your completed application and all required attachments to the given address. If you pass the initial application process, we will contact you with further information. Thank again for your interest and best of luck."

She stopped, looking back up.

"And that's it…" she said slowly.

The excitement in Chip's eyes finally died as disappointment took over.

"Come on, Chip," Nick said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up. It was probably just a mistake. The must have got it mixed up with another letter. Besides, there are still a lot of teams left to respond."

"I guess…" Chip mumbled.

"Nick is right," Vida agreed, bumping into him. "Someone else is bound to respond soon. And, in the meantime, let's finish packing so we can get lunch."

"Yeah, ok," Chip said, smiling again. "It probably was just a mix-up. I'm sure they'll fix it or we'll here from someone else. So let's get to work!"

Tossing the papers aside, the rangers got back to packing.

* * *

"So what's going on?" Trini asked as Jason came back in the room. "Is everything alright?"

He sighed, shrugging.

"Yeah," he said. "I just don't know what to do with my sisters and their friends right now…"

Trini frowned as he sat down. It was just them for dinner that night. Her parents had the kids.

"What did they do now?" she said.

"They sent letters to Lightspeed and Time Force," he said. "Well, Wes and Eric—the others probably won't see that letter unless they call. Apparently they want to meet other ranger teams."

Raising an eyebrow, Trini passed Jason a plate so he could start serving himself.

"So why didn't they just call you?" she asked. "Or send you one? Wouldn't that have made more sense?"

"Because I'm still not talking to them," he said. "And they aren't talking to me. Pretty sure they don't want anything to do with our team so they're trying to get in touch with the others instead."

"But the others won't meet with them until they talk to you," Trini said slowly.

Jason smirked, passing her the salt.

"Nope," he said. "And I'm not going to tell them. Let them figure it out for themselves."

Trini sighed, shaking her head.

"Jason, have you talked to Tommy about this?" she asked, looking at him expectantly. "Because you know he'd want you to talk to them."

"No, I haven't," Jason said, rubbing a hand over his face. "Actually, I haven't talked to him in a few weeks. I've been giving him some space—hoping that he'll actually rest a bit after his stint in the hospital a few weeks ago."

Trini nodded. Both of them knew how much Tommy liked sitting still—which was not at all. They were just hoping Hayley had made him relax a little.

"Well, then go call him," Trini said. "It's been long enough. We're both worried about him still anyways and this is important. See what he says before you make a final decision."

Jason nodded and the two fell to talking about other things as they continued eating dinner.

After they were done eating, Trini shooed Jason out of the kitchen to go call Tommy. He protested, trying to help, but she promptly removed the plate from his hand and ordered him out. She didn't want him putting off the conversation just because he was being indecisive. Grumbling, Jason headed to the living room with his cell phone, dialing as he walked.

"You'd better pick up, bro," he muttered as he started pacing back and forth.

But Tommy didn't answer his cell phone. Frowning, Jason decided to skip trying him again and went straight to the next best solution—Hayley. Tommy had probably lost his cell phone again anyways. Hayley answered after a couple of rings.

"_Hello?" _she said.

"Hey, Hayley," said Jason. "It's Jason. Is Tommy around? He didn't answer his cell."

There was a brief pause and Jason frowned.

"He's not here," she finally said.

"Ok," he said. "Where is he? Can you have him call me when he gets home? I've got something important to talk to him about."

She hesitated again.

"Hayley, what's wrong?" Jason asked. "Is he ok?"

"Oh, he's fine," she said quickly. "It's just—well…he's not going to be home for a while…"

Jason froze in place for a moment, his mind jumping to the worst conclusions.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, not entirely sure he was ready for the answer.

Hayley must have heard the change in tone, because she was quick to reassure him.

"It's nothing bad," she said. "He's just out of the country on a dig. He'll be gone for several months."

Jason relaxed, his momentary panic gone. Then he frowned.

"Wait—when did he leave?" he asked. "And why did he leave? He just got out of the hospital. He shouldn't be traveling yet."

"He left last week," Hayley said shortly. "And like I said, he's fine. There's no reason he shouldn't be traveling and he wanted to go on the dig."

"Hayley, he collapsed for some unknown reason and you let him take off out of the country by himself?" Jason exclaimed. "He used to just run to his uncle's cabin—couldn't you have sent him there?"

"He wanted more space than that," she snapped. "And don't you dare question my judgment. I know what's best for him."

"Alright, alright," Jason said, backing off a little. "No need to be so snappy."

"Then don't imply I don't know how to take care of Tommy!" she exclaimed. "You may be his best friend, but remember that I'm his wife."

Jason took a deep breath.

"I know," he said. "Just calm down. I know you're—"

He stopped, hesitating. It wasn't his goal to irritate her more.

"You know I'm what?" she demanded. "Fat? Is that what you're not saying? That I'm getting fat?"

Jason winced.

"No!" he immediately protested. "I wasn't going to say that! I was just pointing out that you're a lot moodier now that you're pregnant. I said nothing about your weight."

"But you were thinking it!" she snapped.

"No—" he tried to protest again.

"Just wait until Trini hears about this," she burst out. "You should know better."

"Hayley, don't," he groaned. "You know that's not what—"

There was a click indicating she'd just hung up on him.

"Great," he muttered. "I'm so dead…"

"Jason," Trini said, coming out of the kitchen a few moments later. "Why is Hayley texting me? And why—you called her fat?"

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"No, I didn't," he said. "I just told her she was being moody—which she was—and somehow she took that as me talking about her weight. I have no idea how she got there…"

Trini glared at him.

"Go finish the dishes," she snapped. "I'm going to call Hayley and then you can tell me your side of the story before I decide what I'm going to do to you."

She stalked out of the room, leaving Jason staring after her. Sighing, he ran a hand over his hand.

"Bro, you are so dead when I see you," he muttered, heading for the kitchen. "And why on earth did you leave the country when your wife is pregnant?"

With no chance of an answer anytime soon, Jason sighed and went to finish the dishes.

* * *

"We got another one!" Chip announced excitedly, bouncing into Rootcore. "It just came in the mail!"

He was waving another letter around. Smaller than the last one, it was clearly hand addressed. Nick, Xander, Vida, and Madison were all scattered around the main level, each of them working on their own things. But when Chip came in, they stopped what they were doing and looked up. It had been several days since the first disappointing response arrived. But Chip had bounced back, eagerly waiting for another letter.

"Well, then what are you waiting for?" Vida asked. "Read it."

The others murmured agreements as they all crowded around Chip. Still bouncing excitedly in place, he tore the envelope open.

"I think it's actually a letter this time," he said eagerly, unfolding the single sheet that had been inside.

He scanned it quickly before reading it out loud, a little of the excitement falling away again.

"Come on, Chip," Nick said. "What does it say?"

Chip took a deep breath and started reading.

"To the Mystic Force rangers," he said. "We received your communication. However, at this time we cannot arrange a meeting of any kind. If you would like to meet with any past rangers, please contact the Mighty Morphin' red ranger for details. There will be no further communications from us until we have received word from him."

He looked up.

"Its signed 'Wild Force Yellow'," he said, frowning in confusion. "And it's sealed with a yellow eagle."

"Well, that's odd," Madison commented, leaning against Nick, his arm around her waist. "Didn't we send all of them to the reds?"

"Yep," Chip confirmed. "Oh! There's a P.S. And the handwriting changed…"

"And what does it say?" Xander asked. "Does it explain why their yellow is writing instead of their red?"

Chip shook his head.

"Mystic Force," he read. "We really would meet with you if we were allowed to, but chain of command says we can't right now. Hope to meet you soon! Wild Force White and the rest of the team."

"Umm… Ok?" Vida said slowly. "So, that answered nothing. Guess we have to keep waiting…"

Chip sighed, looking a little disappointed.

"I still don't get why their yellow responded instead of their red," Xander said, shaking his head. "It just doesn't make sense."

Chip frowned at him.

"What's wrong with yellow?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Xander said quickly as the other three snickered at him. "It's just—well, yellow usually isn't in charge… Not that there's anything wrong with that! I—"

"Xander, stop while you're behind," Nick said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"He does have a point though," Vida said. "Why would their yellow be responding? Shouldn't it be their leader doing that? And reds are always the leader, right?"

The rangers all exchanged glances, shrugging. They couldn't think of an instance where rangers weren't led by a red.

"In most cases," Leanbow said, walking up behind them. "But not always."

They all turned to look at him, waiting for their teacher to explain. For a moment he said nothing, looking at the four young rangers.

"What do you mean?" Madison asked.

"While it is true that most ranger teams are led by a red ranger," he said. "There have been instances when another member of the team took charge instead. One such example is the first white ranger in the non-magical realm, the one you four have spoken about in the past. From observations we have made, it appears that he led the team for a time rather than the red ranger."

Vida, Madison, Chip, and Xander exchanged glances, nodding.

"We didn't think about that," Xander said. "But you're right. He did."

"I thought they were more co-leaders than one over the other, though," Chip frowned.

Leanbow nodded.

"That would be an accurate description," he admitted. "Remember, neither Udonna nor I have ever spoken to any of these rangers ourselves. Most of our knowledge comes from observation, and a lot of mine is second hand due to being a prisoner of the Master."

"Which is never happening again," Nick said fiercely. "You aren't missing anything else."

"I have no intention of missing any more of your life, Bowen," Leanbow said. "Nor does your mother."

Madison smiled, leaning her head against Nick's shoulder as the rest of the group smiled, too.

"But he's the only one I can think of," Chip said after a moment. "And I know a lot about the rangers."

Leanbow smiled.

"That is true," he said. "You are very knowledgeable when it comes to ranger history, Chip. But you are wrong when you say there aren't others. There are two, in fact, that we know of. One was only a leader until her red arrived while the other led with the red for the duration of her time on Earth."

"Wait, what?" Vida exclaimed. "So the teams were led by the girls for once?"

Laughing, Leanbow nodded.

"For a time," he said. "Wild Force operated for a space of time on their own before their red arrived. Until he came, their yellow ranger took the lead."

"Which might explain why she wrote the letter," Nick said. "She was in charge at some point."

Leanbow nodded.

"And Time Force's pink ranger led the group from the future," he continued. "And she continued to take on much of the leadership responsibilities even after they found their red in the present day."

"See?" Vida smirked, elbowing Xander. "Girls can lead, too."

The boys all rolled their eyes.

"We never said you couldn't," Xander retorted. "Just that you don't."

Madison and Vida both glared at him.

"Smooth," Nick said, shaking his head.

"Anyone up for a training session?" Vida asked, glancing around the room. "Because I feel the need to beat on a certain someone."

Laughing, the others agreed as Xander protested and Vida grabbed his arm, towing him toward the door. With Leanbow following, the rangers left the letter on the table and headed out to do some training.

* * *

"Just great," Jason muttered, glaring at the papers on the floor. "Now I'm going to have to sort everything again…"

Sighing, he leaned down to pick up the papers he'd been planning to put in the filing cabinet. As he picked up several of the sheets, something slipped out that didn't belong there. Frowning, Jason set his papers aside and picked up the unfamiliar envelope. Taking a closer look, his eyes narrowed. Though he hadn't seen the letters belonging to Lightspeed or Wes and Eric, he knew immediately what it was—and it was addressed to Mighty Morphin' Red. He must have gotten it the same day and mixed it up in the rest of his papers without seeing it.

"Why would they send me one?" he muttered, opening it and scanning the letter quickly. "They should have just called."

Shaking his head, he stuck the letter back in the envelope and finished scooping up his papers. Glancing at the time, he dumped them back on his desk and headed for the door. A couple of their friends were coming over for dinner and Trini would kill him if he was late.

"So we did get a letter after all?" Zach asked. "Well, you did—though I guess it's kind of for the whole team."

Jason nodded as he pulled it out and handed it to Trini who was sitting next to him. She opened the envelope and starting scanning the letter. They had just finished eating dinner. After putting Rose in her playpen and making sure Mark and the DeSantos twins were entertained, Jason and Trini had sat back down with Zach, Rocky, and Aisha who had all come over for dinner.

"Yeah," said Jason. "I found it in some of my papers at the dojo. I must have missed it two days ago when Wes, Eric, and Lightspeed got theirs. I also spoke to Taylor yesterday—apparently Wildforce got one, too."

The other three rangers exchanged surprised looks. This whole letter thing seemed to be spreading quickly throughout the rangers.

"So, Jason?" Rocky said slowly, reaching into his own pocket. "Would now be a good time to tell you I got one, too? For ninjetti?"

Jason glanced at him, frowning as Rocky set his letter on the table.

"Why didn't you tell me two days ago?" he asked.

"We weren't home," Rocky protested. "That wasn't exactly a conversation I wanted to have with you while I was with my family. It's hard to find a private place with so many people around."

He and Aisha, along with their boys, had been on a short vacation out of state with Rocky's parents and several of his younger siblings. Aisha nodded in agreement with what Rocky said, glancing toward the door. They were all watching to make sure none of the kids could hear what they were talking about.

"Fair enough," Jason said grudgingly. "No one saw anything, did they?"

"Miraculously enough, no," Aisha quickly reassured everyone. "We were lucky and happened to be waiting in the lobby for everyone else to come down from the hotel room and there was no one else in the room at the time."

Rocky nodded.

"It scared us both, but I didn't have time to do more than hide it before my little brothers came running out of the elevator," he said. "We read it later and just didn't know what to do with it besides keep it hidden til we got home…"

Nodding, Jason left the letter where it was sitting as he rubbed a hand over his face. Trini placed her hand over the hand he still had resting on the table.

"So Timeforce, Wildforce, Ninjetti, Lightspeed, and us," Zach mused. "But why just those teams? And how did they decide who to send the letters to?"

"It's the reds," Trini said, looking around. "They sent letters to the reds."

"But Jason said Taylor called him about the Wildforce letter," Rocky pointed out. "She's a yellow, not a red—"

Aisha and Trini both turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," he added hastily. "I just meant she doesn't fit that pattern."

Aisha rolled her eyes as Trini shook her head.

"Rocky, Cole got the letter," Trini sighed. "Taylor just beat him to the phone call because she thought of it first."

"Ah," Rocky said. "Got it."

"The point is," Jason said. "That what Trini said makes the most sense."

"It does," Zach agreed. "Except why just those reds? And why you, Jason? Why send you a letter if they know you're still mad at them? Are you sure they know about you?"

For a moment no one answered. Most of them had been thinking the same things. Now they all looked at Jason, waiting for him to answer.

"Why wouldn't they know?" he finally said, frowning. "There's no other reason for them to be so mad at me—unless they really think I'm just being stupid in defending Tommy. But it's not like I was trying to hide it anymore when I went there the last time. If they didn't figure it out from my reaction, then they really weren't listening to a word I said."

"Maybe they didn't," Aisha said. "Maybe they don't know—or maybe they don't know everything."

Everyone else was nodding in agreement, but Jason still wasn't convinced.

"I don't know," he said. "I think they just sent the letter on accident when they sent the rest."

"But we need to know, Jason," Trini said quietly. "Because if they don't know who we are, then they're missing a big piece of the puzzle in all of this."

He sighed, nodding as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"You're right," he said. "I guess I'll have to go back…"

"Oh yeah," Zach snorted. "Cause that's going to do a whole lot of good. Another screaming match is a great way to get information from the crazy kids with the magic sticks."

Jason glared at him. He started to snap back a reply, but Aisha interrupted.

"He's right, Jason," she said. "You're not going to get a straight answer from them with the mood you're in. Let someone else go."

"Like who?" he snapped, wincing when Trini elbowed him. "Sorry…"

Aisha ignored his tone, though, and acted like nothing had happened.

"Why not me?" she suggested, looking around at her friends. "Your sisters have met me before, but it's been years since they saw me. Before they were in high school, I think. Maybe if they don't immediately recognize me they might be more willing to talk rationally."

Jason nodded slowly.

"That might work," he said.

Trini was nodding next to him. She liked the idea, too.

"It'll definitely be better having you approach them," she agreed. "And hopefully you can determine just how much they do know without actually saying that you're a ranger. Because if they don't already know we don't want them to find out until we're all ready."

Aisha nodded, but next to her Rocky was frowning and shaking his head.

"No," he said firmly, crossing his arms. "Not a chance."

"Rocky!" Aisha exclaimed in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You are not going anywhere near those kids," he said. "Who knows what they might do if they find out you're a ranger—look at what happened to Tommy!"

Aisha sighed.

"Rocky," she started to say.

"No," he said again. "I'm not letting you put yourself directly in harm's way like that. You are not going to Briarwood by yourself."

"And you can't go with her," Jason growled, glaring at the other red ranger. "The girls know you—they've seen you countless times at the dojo. Aisha might get away with it if she doesn't give them her last name, but you can't."

"Aisha can handle herself, Rocky," Trini said, trying to keep the peace. "And the girls may have done some stupid things, but they would never attack her without any provocation—well, at least I don't think they would… I guess they kind of already did… oh…"

But Rocky just shook his head again.

"Not a chance," he said adamantly. "I'm putting my foot down, Aisha. You are not going by yourself."

"Oh for goodness sakes, Rocky," Aisha said in exasperation. "I'll be fine."

"I'm not risking it," he muttered.

"Then I won't go by myself," she relented.

"And who are you going to take?" Rocky asked. "Jason and I can't go and neither can Trini. Adam can't because they've seen him at the dojo, too, Tommy is definitely out of the question, Billy isn't even on the planet, and you are not taking Tanya, Kat, or Kim—or Justin. I love the kid, but he's just not that intimidating."

Aisha sighed, shaking her head as she tried to think of someone else.

"Hey!" Zach said, frowning. "You forgot about me! I was not on that list."

"Perfect!" Aisha exclaimed, beaming at him. "You can come with me."

"What?" Zach and Rocky said in unison, looking at Aisha in surprise.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," she said, rolling her eyes. "Zach is perfect. Not only can he look intimidating if he really wants to, but he can also blend in really well if he doesn't want to draw attention."

"Not to mention that my sisters haven't seen him more than a handful of times since we were in high school," Jason added, nodding approvingly.

"But I never said I was going!" Zach protested.

"Sure you are," Aisha said. "It'll be fun."

"But—" he tried to argue.

"Zach, go with Aisha," Jason growled. "It won't kill you."

"It might," Zach muttered, relenting. "But fine, I'll go."

"Good," Jason said. "And I want the two of you to find out as much as you can about what they know—and these letters."

He held his up as he spoke. Aisha and Zach nodded. Rocky still didn't look happy, but he wasn't arguing anymore.

"So how did the rest of the teams handle theirs?" Zach asked, reaching out to take the letter from Jason.

Frowning, Jason let him take the letter to read.

"What do you mean, other teams?" he asked.

Zach glanced up.

"Well I just assumed they sent it to all of the reds," Zach said. "So I'm actually kind of surprised you're not on your way to Reefside—or already there."

"Why would I be on my way to Reefside?" Jason said, a little confused now.

"Because there are four young adults with super powers and overprotective streaks who probably wouldn't take kindly to a letter from your sisters and their friends," Zach said.

"They don't have super powers," Jason sighed. "As Hayley likes to remind me. They have genetic ability—oh no."

He froze as the full weight of what Zach was talking about sunk in.

"Conner got a letter," Jason groaned.

Standing abruptly, Jason started heading for the door.

"Jason, where are you going?" Trini asked, frowning.

"Keep the kids out of the basement," he answered without stopping. "I need to talk to a certain speed demon in red about what he can and cannot do in response to that letter and I can't say there won't be shouting involved."

Sighing, Trini just shook her head and turned back to the others as he disappeared.


	41. Chapter 41

"Hey, there it is," Zach said, pointing just down the street. "The Rock Porium."

He and Aisha had just pulled into Briarwood a few minutes before on their way to try and talk to Mystic Force. She was in the passenger seat, now watching the shop intently as they pulled up. Finding a spot, Zach started to pull in to park the car.

"Alright, Zach," Aisha said, turning to look at him. "I want you to listen very carefully. You need to let me do the talking while we're here."

Zach frowned as he put the car in park and turned it off.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Why?"

Aisha sighed as they both climbed out.

"Well, because," she said slowly. "It's just that, well, in situations like this it's better if the person approaching doesn't seem as intimidating. And people are almost always more comfortable talking to a woman. It's just the way it is."

"Then why am I here again?" Zach asked as they headed down the sidewalk toward the shop.

"Because Rocky is overprotective idiot sometimes," she said, shaking her head. "He didn't want me walking into a potentially dangerous situation all by myself—even though he knows I can handle it."

Zach snorted.

"They wouldn't know what hit them if they tried," he muttered.

Aisha smiled, but still stopped him a short way from the door.

"The point is," she said. "We don't want to intimidate them. So I want you to wait outside while I go in and talk to them."

"And what am I supposed to do out here?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Watch," she answered. "And if things start to go downhill, come help me—but only if I need it. Ok?"

"But I can help," he said. "I am a businessman, remember? I know how to talk to people."

"In a business setting," Aisha said patiently. "They aren't business people. They're young and they're rangers. You need to handle them differently. Just wait out here and I'll handle it."

Zach started to protest again, and then decided it was pointless. Sighing, he nodded. Satisfied that he was going to wait outside, Aisha headed into the Rock Porium.

"My dancers listen to me," Zach muttered to himself, finding a spot to lean against the wall. "They're not business people."

In the Rock Porium, Aisha paused just inside the door, glancing around to get her bearings before she approached anyone. All five of the younger Mystic Force rangers were present. Vida was on the other side of the room, dancing and rocking out to the music she was playing. Chip, who had a broom in hand, was sweeping the floor as he danced around, laughing as Madison videotaped him dancing with the broom. Xander and Nick were at the counter talking and occasionally tossing a comment to one of their teammates. Focusing on them for the moment, Aisha took a deep breath and approached the counter. Both of the boys turned to look at her.

"Hello," she said, smiling at them.

"Hi," Xander said. "Can I help you with something?"

Glancing quickly between the two, Aisha nodded.

"Actually," she said. "I'm new to the area and was hoping the two of you could maybe answer some questions for me."

"What kind of questions?" Nick asked suspiciously, frowning.

Aisha shrugged.

"Oh, you know," she said. "Just some questions about things that have been going on around here."

"Like?" Xander said slowly, sounding guarded.

"Well, like the power rangers," Aisha said. "What do you know about them? I mean, they are kind of hard to miss."

Nick and Xander exchanged looks, not entirely sure what to say.

"It's ok," she reassured them. "I'm just wondering what you know about them. There has to be something you can tell me."

Nick took a deep breath.

"Listen," he said. "I don't know who you are, but—"

"My name is Aisha," she said quickly. "Like I said, I'm new to the area and just want to know what I'm getting myself into here. Someone said if I wanted to know anything about the rangers this was a good place to start."

They were both frowning now.

"So you're just taking the word of a random stranger off the street?" Xander said. "Sorry to tell you, but you're barking up the wrong tree. We can't help you."

Madison, who had turned from filming Vida and Chip to see what Xander and Nick were doing, put down the camera as she watched. Seeing Nick and Xander tense and gathering that the conversation with the customer wasn't going well, she caught Chip and Vida's attention and gestured toward the counter. They all started making their way over to join their teammates.

"Please?" Aisha said, catching the other three coming out of the corner of her eye. "There has to be something you can tell me. I mean, is it just your rangers around here? Or have you seen other rangers, too?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't help you," Nick said stiffly, shaking his head. "If you want to know something about the power rangers, check the newspaper. They've printed lots of stories."

Aisha took a deep breath as she looked around at the full team, all of them now eying her suspiciously. This was not going the way she had hoped it would. Behind her the door opened. Shooting a quick glance over her shoulder, she was surprised to see Zach wandering in.

"Hey," Zach said to the Mystic Force rangers, not acknowledging Aisha. "Got any Bon Jovi?"

They all looked at him in surprise.

"Umm… yeah," Vida said. "Over there."

She pointed toward one of the shelves.

"Great. Thanks!" Zach grinned, heading that way.

"Now," Nick said, scowling as he turned back to Aisha. "Unless you have something you want to ask us about here in the shop, we're done."

"But—" she started to protest as the five turned to walk away.

"We're done," Nick repeated firmly.

Sighing, Aisha glanced around for Zach. He was studying the shelf he was at intently. A couple of the young rangers headed in his direction.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Vida asked, stopping next to him.

"I think so," he said, pulling out a CD to look at. "But I haven't decided yet."

She smiled.

"Alright," she said. "Just let us know if we can help you."

He nodded, glancing over his shoulder at them.

"Sure thing," he said.

Zach paused, frowning as he looked at them.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked, turning to look at the group.

The other four, who had been heading back to work as far away from Aisha as they could get, stopped with Vida when they heard Zach's question. Vida glanced at her teammates and sighed before looking back at him.

"I don't think so," she said. "You do look kind of familiar, too, but I don't know who you are."

"Ok," Zach shrugged, turning back to the CD shelf. "Figured I'd ask instead of sitting here thinking I'm crazy."

Laughing, the kids started to scatter again, but didn't go far.

"Question," said Zach, turning around again.

They looked at him expectantly.

"What can we help you with?" Xander asked.

"Ok, first of all, do you have any Guns and Roses?" Zach asked. "And second—this is the city where the Power Rangers were, right? I'm not making that up, am I?"

"Over there," Vida said, pointing down a shelf. "And no, you're not crazy. Why do you ask?"

They were eying him hesitantly now and Nick glanced back at Aisha. She was still in the shop, trying to browse without drawing attention to herself as there was no point in going outside without Zach. The younger rangers may not have known it, but he had the car keys.

"Because the Power Rangers are awesome," Zach grinned, looking at them again. "I grew up in Angel Grove and there were rangers all the time. I may or may not have a slight obsession with them."

Aisha, who had been reaching to pick up a CD to look at, nearly choked at Zach's statement, quickly turning it into a cough. But Zach just ignored her, continuing to ramble about the power rangers.

"Have you ever seen them running around?" he asked eagerly. "I mean, I know they had that big fight and the news kind of died down, but they didn't really leave did they? They have to be here somewhere."

"Not really," Madison said slowly, relaxing just a little with Zach's rambling. "I guess they're just not needed as much now that the monsters have stopped coming."

Zach snorted.

"People are always going to need power rangers," he said confidently. "You'll see, they'll pop up again eventually. It just kind of happens. Do you have this in vinyl?"

He held up a CD. For a moment they just stared at it, caught off guard by the sudden change in subject. Then Vida shook herself, frowning as she looked at the CD.

"I don't know," she said. "We'd have to check. Give me a second."

She darted off to look, leaving the other four with Zach.

"So do you guys have a favorite?" he asked, studying the remaining four. "Personally, I've always been partial to the black rangers. I mean, the reds are great and all but they always seem to be getting hurt and they have to be responsible for everyone else, the blues are too smart for me, and the pinks are constantly getting kidnapped like damsels in distress."

In the corner, Aisha snorted. Xander and Chip were snickering, too, as they looked at their teammates. Vida, who had come back just in time to hear the pink comment, was not thrilled by it.

"We don't have that one," she said, trying to hide the fact that she was insulted by Zach's comment. "But we can order it for you if you'd like."

"Sure, that would be great," he grinned. "Guess you didn't like my comment about pink rangers? I guess I don't really have to ask which ones the four of you like."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nick asked suspiciously.

"Oh, come on," Zach said. "It's obvious to anyone who's a power rangers fan. You're wearing your favorite colors. That hair color is kind of a giveaway."

He was looking pointedly at Vida and her bright pink hair. She blushed, slightly embarrassed to be called out on it by someone she thought was a stranger.

"Guess you got us there," Chip said quickly, trying to throw Zach off more. "We're big fans, too. My favorite is the yellow ranger."

Zach snorted.

"Can't agree with you there, kid," he said. "Yellows are just targets. And pinks aren't much better. I mean, look at them. They're running around in bright, neon colors that say 'Here I am! Hit me!' and then wonder why they can never sneak past the bad guys. Red isn't quite as bad, but they don't have a whole lot of places they can hide unnoticed. And at least the green rangers can hide in a bush or something similar—like a cart of watermelons."

Xander nodded in approval, though he seemed a little confused by the watermelon comment. In the far corner, Aisha rolled her eyes. She'd been glaring at Zach since the target comment and the only thing keeping her from saying anything was the fact that the kids seemed to actually be talking to him.

"And that's why the black rangers are the best," Zach continued. "No neon colors means they can blend in just about anywhere."

"The yellow ranger isn't that bad," Chip protested.

"Never said they were bad rangers," Zach said. "Just obvious ones. Oh! Have to get this one."

He added another CD to the small collection in his hands, moving on down the shelf as he continued to browse.

"This is a really nice shop," he mused. "I'll have to come back here more often. Guess it was a good thing my car broke down here in—wait, what is this town called again?"

He turned back to the younger rangers, looking at them expectantly.

"Briarwood," Madison answered quickly.

"Right, Briarwood," Zach repeated, studying them intently again. "Are you sure I don't know you? You look so familiar. Were you in the newspaper recently?"

Nick shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said. "I'm sure you're thinking of someone else."

"No, it's gotta be you five," Zach said slowly. "Oh! I know!"

They tensed, waiting for the accusation they were sure was coming.

"You guys made the Guinness Book of World Records, didn't you?" Zach asked. "You made the world's largest cookie?"

The five young rangers stared at Zach in shock, momentarily speechless by just how off his guess actually was.

"No, that wasn't us," Xander finally said, shaking his head. "I think you're confusing us with someone else."

"Oh, come on," Zach said. "You don't have to hide it from me. I know you've probably had your fill of questions and cameras for a while, but I just want to know where on earth you found a big enough pan for that cookie. It was huge!"

"That wasn't us," Madison said. "That didn't even happen in this state…"

Zach frowned.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Because I could have sworn it was here."

"She's sure," Nick said firmly. "Wasn't here, wasn't us. The only thing this city has is the rangers."

"Alright," Zach sighed. "I believe you… But there's just something about you, I know I recognize you from somewhere."

He frowned, going back to the CD's as he continued thinking out loud.

"Did your high school win some kind of competition?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder. "In sports or something like that?"

They all snorted, shaking their heads.

"We're not in high school," Nick said.

"Oh, well, guess that one is out," Zach muttered. "Was it some kind of disease? Is one of you horribly sick or dying?"

"No!" Madison exclaimed, horrified by the suggestion. "Of course not."

Zach turned back around again.

"Then you've gotta give me something," he said. "Cause it's going to drive me nuts if I can't figure out how I know you. You're not criminals, are you?"

"We're not criminals," Chip burst out. "We're the power rangers."

The rest of his team froze in shock, as did Chip once he realized what he'd said. Zach raised an eyebrow.

"Sure you are, kid," he said sarcastically. "And so am I."

They frowned, but Zach just started laughing.

"Aren't you a little young to be rangers?" he said in pretend disbelief. "They saved the whole city—you five are just kids."

"We're not just kids," Vida said fiercely. "We are the Power Rangers whether you choose to believe us or not."

Zach didn't say anything for a moment, studying the young rangers facing him. Each of them was glaring at him now as if daring to argue with their confession, unintentional as it was.

"Alright, I believe you," he said slowly. "So you five are the power rangers."

"Yeah, we are," Nick said, shooting a glare at Chip.

Chip ducked his head sheepishly.

"Don't be too mad at him," Zach said. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"We've heard that before," Xander muttered, falling silent when Nick turned his glare on him.

"I won't, really," Zach reassured them. "Besides, no one usually believes me about this kind of stuff anyways. They don't take me seriously most of the time."

They still didn't look like that believed him, but he didn't press the issue.

"So, what's it like being a power ranger?" he asked eagerly. "Have you gotten to meet any of the other rangers yet?"

"It's great," Chip grinned. "And no… not yet…"

"Why not?" Zach asked, frowning. "I mean, ranger teams team up all the time. Like when the lightsaber team worked with—hmm… time hoppers? Future force?"

"It's Lightspeed Rescue," Chip corrected. "And Time Force."

"Right!" Zach grinned. "Like them. That never happened with you?"

"Nope," said Xander. "Never got the chance."

"So you're telling me you've never met any of the other rangers?" Zach said in surprise.

"None of them," Vida said ruefully. "Guess they didn't think we needed their help."

"That's because we didn't," Nick growled. "We were just fine on our own."

"Uh huh," Zach said, not bothering to argue. "But don't you even want to meet any of the others."

"Well, we do," Madison said slowly. "It's just—well, it's complicated."

Zach raised an eyebrow.

"What's so complicated about it?" he asked, glancing at his watch. "Why don't you just call them?"

"We can't," Vida said. "We don't know who they are."

"Oh, come on," Zach said, starting to wander back toward the front of the store. "You have to know who they are. They're rangers, too. Don't you guys have some kind of, I don't know, database where you can look each other up or something? Or a hotline? A hotline would be cool."

"We really don't know who any of them are," Chip said sadly. "Except the Space Rangers, and they aren't exactly easy to get a hold of."

"But then how do you guys call for help if you need it?" Zach frowned, walking over to the register counter.

The Mystic Force rangers followed, Vida moving around to ring up Zach's purchases.

"Like what if one of the bad evil rangers came back?" he pressed. "Those guys are always so much harder to get rid of then monsters."

All five of them visibly flinched, but Zach pretended not to have noticed as he dug his wallet out.

"We deal with it ourselves," Nick said shortly.

"But we are trying to get in touch with the others," Chip said quickly, trying to change the subject. "We just haven't heard anything solid yet."

Zach nodded.

"Fair enough," he said, handing Vida the money to pay for his CDs. "Guess it must be hard when you don't know identities."

They nodded.

"Anyways," he said, looking at Vida. "You can order that vinyl for me, right?"

"Of course," she said. "Just let me get your name and number and we'll call you when it comes in."

"Sure," Zach said.

He pulled out a business card from his wallet and handed it over.

"Here," he said. "That should have everything you need on it."

Madison, who had just finished tucking his CDs in a bag, handed it to Zach. Behind him, Aisha had just slipped silently out the door while they were preoccupied with him.

"Great," Vida said, making a note on the back of it. "We'll give you a call, then."

"Thanks," he grinned. "I'll see you then. It was nice chatting with you. And I promise, your secret is safe with me."

Turning, he headed out the door, leaving the five rangers at the counter.

"Who was that guy?" Xander asked after the door closed.

Vida shrugged, flipping the card over.

"Zachary Taylor," she read. "Guys, he's a choreographer for a big record label."

Her teammates all looked at her in surprise, crowding closer to see the business card.

"You're right, sis," Madison said. "So what was he doing here?"

"Well, he did say his car broke down," Chip pointed out. "Probably just passing through."

"Well, whoever he is, he's gone now," Nick said. "So let's get back to work and hope he keeps his promise not to tell everyone."

Chip's face turned red again as they got back to work.

Outside, Zach and Aisha quickly got back in the car and pulled away, not wanting to risk the kids seeing them together.

"Zach, that was brilliant," Aisha said once they were a ways down the street. "How did you manage that?"

He grinned, glancing over at her.

"I told you," he said. "I know how to talk to people and keep them off guard—it's a talent."

She rolled her eyes. Then something occurred to her and she reached over and smacked his arm.

"Ow!" Zach exclaimed. "What was that for? Didn't anyone ever teach you not to hit the driver?"

"Yellows are targets?" she snapped, crossing her arms.

"Oh, that," Zach said. "Well, it's true."

Aisha's eyes narrowed.

"Well fine," she said. "Then you won't mind me telling Trini and Tanya."

She pulled out her phone, fingers flying over the keyboard as Zach's eyes widened.

"Oh, come on, Aisha," he begged. "I only said it to keep them off guard. I wasn't serious."

"Too late," she said, smirking. "Message sent. Oh, I also sent it to Ashley, Kelsey, Taylor…"

Zach groaned as she trailed off.

"Did you really have to send it to all of them?" he muttered. "Because if you went that far I'm sure you told Dustin and Kira, too…"

"Well of course," Aisha said smugly. "I wouldn't want to leave any of the yellows in the dark. And of course I had to text the pinks, too, about the whole damsel in distress thing."

"I'm dead," he mumbled. "The yellows are going to kill me—and then the pinks will get a turn… I am a dead man."

Aisha's phone started beeping as responses to her text started coming in. Zach groaned again.

"Yes," she said, laughing as she started reading the messages. "Yes you are."


	42. Chapter 42

"Alright, guys, settle down," Jason said, speaking a little louder to be heard over the rest of the group. "Yes, I know this whole situation is getting out of hand, but we're going to deal with it."

The rest of the room quieted down a little, turning their attention back to Jason. Any of the original rangers who had been in the area were currently gathered at Jason and Trini's house to discuss the Mystic Force letters. Jason had also set up computers so that the few who lived out of town, or off planet, could also be involved. So, while most of the group was physically present, Kim, Kat, Billy, and Zach were all using video chat to be a part of the meeting.

"As I was saying," continued Jason, now that he had their attention again. "I've spoken to all of the other teams and anyone who has received a letter has responded appropria—well, they've responded, anyways…"

Some of the others snickered. Zach started outright laughing, as did Rocky.

"Loved the responses from the Silver Guardians and Lightspeed," he grinned, leaning back in his chair as he looked at the camera. "Though Conner's kind of scared me…"

Jason, having gotten copies of all of the responses from the other teams, had shared them with the rest of the originals before the meeting. The letter Dino Thunder had sent, which had been written by Conner and edited by Ethan, had been the most volatile of all of the responses.

"That's because he practically threatened them," Kim pointed out.

"Girl, he did threaten them," Aisha corrected. "There's no practically about it."

The letters, which had all appeared suddenly several days before at the same time, had elicited a variety of responses from the different ranger teams. By this time, everyone had a least a general idea of what Mystic Force had done to Tommy. None of them, even the teams who weren't close to the famous ranger, had been happy about it, though not all of them were up in arms. Jason had nearly had a riot on his hands when the news spread past the originals and Dino Thunder, spending hours on the phone arguing with some of the rangers as to why they were not allowed to go teach Mystic Force a lesson themselves. The letters had just riled them up more.

"The point is," Jason said shortly. "That everyone with a known letter has responded. That includes Wes and Eric, Lightspeed, Dino Thunder, and Wild Force. The Space Rangers haven't gotten one and TJ has nothing for Turbo, though they could have lost those letters anywhere on the ship and won't know it for weeks with all the fan mail they deal with. And the ninjas haven't gotten one at all."

"Yeah, and they are not happy about it," Zach snorted. "Talk about offensive. Mystic Force should at least cover all of their bases if they're going to do something stupid like this."

Jason shot a look toward the computer, but Zach just grinned.

"The rangers here on Aquitar have also received a letter," Billy said quietly. "Though it did arrive some hours after the rest of them, even if I account for differences in time. I believe it may have gotten slightly lost along the way due to the distance from Earth. I am also checking with Lost Galaxy to see if they received anything, though I do not believe the young team would have any knowledge of them as they never came to earth."

Jason nodded.

"So, what are we going to do about our letter?" Adam asked. "The one you got, Jason."

"And what about the one I got for Ninjetti?" Rocky asked. "I haven't done anything with it yet."

"And you don't need to," Jason said. "As for ours—I'm not answering it."

The room fell completely silent for a moment as they all looked at Jason in shock, except for Trini who just sighed. She had already known what Jason had decided. After a moment, though, everyone started talking at once again about why it was or wasn't a good idea to ignore the letter. Jason let it go for a little while before he interrupted.

"Alright, quiet," he said, grabbing their attention again. "I know some of you, or all of you, may not like it, but that's my decision. I am not going to send them a response because at this point in time, I have no plans to initiate further contact with them. There is no point in encouraging communication by sending a letter when I want nothing to do with them."

"Jason, they're your sisters," Kat said. "You can't just cut all ties to them like this."

"Watch me," Jason growled, glaring in her direction.

Every single one of the originals was outraged by Mystic Force's actions regarding Tommy, but a few of them thought Jason completely alienating them was the wrong way to go. A few of the group wanted to reconcile and move on rather than stay at odds with the newest team. The difference in opinion had been causing some waves throughout the ranger network.

"Jason, you have to give them another chance," Kat said, pleading her case. "I'm not saying they didn't do something wrong—I hate what they did to Tommy. But we've all messed up and we've all hurt each other in some way. Send the letter. Give them a chance to make this right."

"They don't deserve a letter," Kim snapped from her computer. "Those rang—those kids—hurt Tommy. And not just physically. We've all seen how depressed he's been since the whole blowup. They hurt him."

"You hurt Tommy, too," Kat snapped back. "Remember the letter? He gave you a second chance."

Kim froze, momentarily stunned by Kat's response. Everyone else was just as shocked. There were a few subjects that were taboo among them and that letter was one of them as it was an extremely touchy subject for everyone involved. Taking a deep breath, Kim glared across screens at Kat.

"Fine," she hissed. "If that's how it's going to be, then I'm out of here."

Before anyone could stop her, Kim hung up, disappearing from screen. A guilty look flashed across Kat's face, but she didn't say anything as several of the others looked at her in surprise.

"Kat, you broke up with him, too," Tanya said softly after a moment.

"But not like she did," Kat said defensively. "Tommy and I both agreed that our lives were heading in different directions—she just decided long distance was too hard. She didn't even give him the courtesy of a phone call!"

"But you didn't have to yell at her," Zach frowned. "She has a point about the newbies."

"Well, I'm sorry," Kat said tearfully. "I just—I can't do this today. I have a performance and I don't need this right now."

She hung up, too. Zach started to say something else, but Jason stopped him.

"Just stop," Jason interrupted. "This is why I'm not responding. The whole thing has already divided us enough and I'm not about to let it tear the rangers apart. I am not sending Mystic Force a letter. Maybe when they don't get a response they'll start taking a closer look at what they've done. They need time to think."

Reluctantly, the rest of the rangers nodded in agreement. They were all tired of being on edge and irritated with the new team and each other. Jason took a deep breath.

"Now," he said. "Everyone remember that no one is to say anything about this to Tommy. He's been dealing with enough."

While most of the rangers nodded, Adam frowned.

"Jason, then what are you doing about the Zeo letter?" he asked. "Did you get a hold of it somehow? Because if that letter did the same thing as the rest, it would have gone to our red—Tommy."

Jason froze, grimacing.

"Zeo," he muttered. "I forgot about Zeo."

"Oh, thanks," Rocky grumbled. "You know, you were on Zeo for a while, too."

"I know," Jason said, rubbing a hand over his face. "But it wasn't for that long and it doesn't come up in conversation much. Trini doesn't like talking about it…"

"Because you almost died!" she protested.

Jason sighed.

"Trini, we all nearly died on a weekly basis in high school and you have a meltdown over one small period of time?" he said.

She glared at him, crossing her arms.

"Jason, you didn't tell anyone it was killing you," she snapped. "That's a whole lot different."

"Alright," he relented, not wanting to get into the argument they'd had many times before. "Now, has anyone talked to Tommy recently? Has he said anything about the letter?"

The rest of the rangers rolled their eyes, shaking their heads.

"Jason, no one has talked to Tommy in weeks except you," Adam pointed out. "We told you that when we got here, remember?"

"And that definitely has not changed in the past hour," Zach commented.

"Yeah, well, I was hoping," Jason muttered. "The idiot doesn't even answer my phone calls anymore. He's hiding overseas, not talking to anyone except Hayley. I know something happened, but he won't tell me what. And he left his wife here alone and she's—"

"Jason, careful what you say," Trini warned, guessing where he was going.

"Is—extremely—pregnant," Jason stumbled. "The point is he should be here instead of on a dig in whatever country he's in right now. But he's not and he won't tell anyone why except Hayley."

"And anytime one of us tries to talk to her about it, she starts crying and hangs up," Aisha sighed.

"I'm pretty sure the kids know, too," Jason muttered. "But I can't get anything out of them. And anytime I think I'm getting close to cracking one of them, suddenly we're talking about something else completely."

The others laughed, nodding. They'd all experienced that a time or two with the younger Dino rangers.

"Talk about being good at keeping secrets," Zach said. "No one can crack them if they don't want to talk."

"No kidding," Jason grumbled. "One minute I thought I had Ethan about to confess, and then suddenly we're talking about ice cream. I couldn't even remember changing subjects! And then I try and steer him back to what's going on with Tommy and, next thing I know, he and Conner are arguing about some video game."

"Well, look at who their mentor is," Tanya pointed out. "They learned from the best."

"A little too well, sometimes," Trini sighed.

"Anyways, the meeting is over for now," Jason said, pulling his phone out. "I've gotta try calling Tommy. I really hope he didn't get that letter…"

* * *

Tommy sighed, hearing his phone start vibrating again. He glanced over where it was sitting on the table next to him, but didn't reach for it. Instead, he went back to writing.

"Give it a rest, Jase," he muttered. "Calling three times in thirty minutes isn't going to get me to pick up. I'm sorry, bro, but I don't want to talk right now…"

Going back over the letter one more time, he folded it and put it in the envelope he had already gotten ready. Sealing the letter inside, he set the envelope down on the table again and studied it. He'd been surprised to receive the letter several days before. At first he hadn't been sure what he was going to do with it, and then he decided he would send a response back and encourage them to contact Jason. Just because the girls and their teammates hated him, didn't mean they needed to hate all of the rangers. It would be good for them to meet formally as rangers. And eventually getting to meet some of the other teams would be good experience for the new team. It would help the young rangers expand their knowledge of the Power Ranger network and create stronger connections for the future.

"I hope this helps them," he sighed, shaking his head.

Despite everything that had happened, Tommy wasn't angry with the young rangers—far from it. He held nothing against them for the attack, taking all the blame for himself no matter how many of the others tried to tell him he hadn't deserved any of it. All he wanted right now was to support them in any way he could. And if that meant sending them letters that pointed them in the direction of a reconcilement with their brother, then he would do it.

"Wonder how the others are responding to theirs," he mused, guessing he wasn't the only one to get a letter.

His phone started buzzing again and Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Jason, you are far too overprotective sometimes," he sighed. "And you aren't even my current—oh no."

He stopped, grimacing.

"Conner," he muttered, reaching for his phone. "If he got one of these… I have to call Hayley. Sorry, bro, keeping Conner from killing your sisters is more important right now."

Ignoring the call from Jason, he dialed Hayley instead.

"Hayley?" he said as soon as she answered. "Have you heard from Conner in the last couple of days?"

* * *

"Wait for it, Chip," Xander said, not taking his eyes off of what he was doing. "If you move too soon, the whole thing will come crashing down."

The two rangers were currently waiting to make their move as Nick and Madison, currently facing off with Daggeron and Leanbow, led the two older rangers toward the trap that was waiting. Vida was flitting around in the shadows of the trees, occasionally jumping into the fight to throw off the balance. But she was really waiting to leap in and snag the prize Leanbow and Daggeron were carrying and guarding. It was a training exercise focusing on teamwork—the magical version of capture the flag. Essentially, the goal was to take the object from their teachers however they could. The younger rangers had tried the frontal assault first and failed. So now they were setting a trap.

"I've got it," Chip grinned, glancing over his shoulder at Xander. "Just be ready to let those vines go."

After darting away for a moment to throw in a side attack of his own Chip returned to wait with Xander. Leanbow and Daggeron were slowly getting closer. The younger rangers knew their teachers had to be expecting a trap, but they were hoping to throw them off enough to succeed. They had set up an intricate net of living vines that Xander was currently holding in place with his magic. Their plan was to lure their teachers into place through frontal assault and sneak attacks. As soon as they were in position, Chip would attack and momentarily blind them with a light spell meant to send them stumbling into the vines. Xander would let go, pulling the two older rangers up into the trees and giving Vida the chance to fly in and snatch the prize before their teachers could break free. So far, the plan was working.

"Almost there," Xander muttered. "Just a little closer."

Daggeron and Leanbow were only a few steps away. Slipping silently into position, Chip waited to release his spell. Udonna came walking in from the direction of Rootcore. She stayed well away from the rangers, not wanting to interfere in their session. But she did announce her presence so they were aware of her.

"Rangers, when you're finished, Phineas just left a letter for you that was delivered to the Rock Porium," she said.

She had expected the rangers to all keep going and acknowledge her after they were finished. But at the mention of the letter, Chip momentarily lost focus. He let the spell go early and, instead of blinding Daggeron and Leanbow, the flash of light caught Xander. Shocked by the spell, Xander lost control of his own and the vines whipped out of place. Leanbow and Daggeron leapt out of the way, but Nick was closer and didn't have a chance to move. The vines snagged him, pulling him up into the trees.

"Oh no!" Madison exclaimed as the fight came to an abrupt conclusion.

"Chip!" Nick shouted, struggling to free himself.

With Nick trapped and Xander trying to recover from the blinding spell, Leanbow and Daggeron quickly took down the four young rangers, ending the training session. Udonna continued to wait patiently for them off to the side.

"Your plan was well thought out," Leanbow said, offering a hand to Xander. "But not well executed."

"What happened?" Daggeron asked, pulling Madison to her feet. "If you had waited just a few more moments, you very well may have had us."

"That was my fault, Daggeron," Chip said sheepishly, climbing back up to his feet. "I lost focus for a moment…"

"No kidding," Nick muttered, still hanging upside down in the tree.

"Hold on, Nick," Vida sighed, looking up at him. "We'll get you down. Xander?"

As Xander, Madison, and Vida turned their attention to getting their leader down, Daggeron and Leanbow turned theirs to Chip. They both looked at him for a moment with expressions of disappointment.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled, ducking his head. "I shouldn't have lost focus…"

"No, you shouldn't have," Leanbow said. "You must always be prepared for distractions and be ready to handle them—without putting the rest of your team in danger. A true knight notices and observes everything, but keeps his mind focused on the task at hand."

"If this had been real, all of you would have been in serious trouble," Daggeron added. "Xander was blinded and Nick was trapped, leaving you down two rangers. In a real fight, that could get someone killed, not just trapped."

"I know…" Chip said, his shoulders sagging. "And I have no excuse…I messed up."

Behind them, Xander had managed to lower Nick to the ground without dropping him and now he and the girls were pulling the vines off the red ranger. Daggeron put a hand on Chip's shoulder.

"Next time, keep your focus," he said. "Other things have to wait when you're in battle."

"I will," Chip promised as the rest of the team came to join them now that Nick was free.

Chip turned to his team, still embarrassed by his loss of focus.

"Sorry, Nick," he said. "I shouldn't have let the letter distract me. We don't even know if it's from one of the rangers…"

"That's alright, Chip," Nick said. "Just, next time you get distracted, can you not do it when I'm going to get strung up in a tree? Hanging upside down is really not as fun as you'd think."

Chip smiled, nodding. Udonna, seeing that they were done, came forward to join them. She held out the letter to Chip, who hesitated. The letter was the reason the training exercise had fallen apart. But Nick nodded encouragingly, so he took it.

"It's from Dino Thunder!" he said excitedly. "They're practically our neighbors when it comes to ranger teams."

Vida, Nick, Madison, and Xander all grinned, waiting as Chip opened the letter. Leanbow, Daggeron, and Udonna watched in interest. They knew about the letters, but hadn't actually read any of them at this point. Pulling the letter out of the envelope, Chip scanned it eagerly. But as he read, he developed a look of shock.

"Chip, what's wrong?" Nick asked, frowning.

"It's—it's a threat," Chip stammered, looking up from the letter. "They're actually threatening us."

"You've got to be reading it wrong," Nick said, taking the letter from him. "They've never met us, so why would they threaten us?"

But as he read it, his face grew grim.

"They are way out of line," he growled, shaking his head. "This is completely uncalled for—we have never threatened them in any way!"

"Would someone just read it?" Vida demanded, crossing her arms. "What does it say?"

"Here, let me," Madison said, taking it out of Nick's hands.

He just glowered at the paper, muttering under his breath. Scanning the contents quickly, Madison took a deep breath.

"Mystic Force," she read, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. "Your letter asking for the chance to meet us is both unnecessary and unwanted. We know who you are and have no desire to share our identities with you. So stay in Briarwood where you belong. Fortunately for you, we are under strict orders to stay out of your city and we will follow the chain of command. So, as long as you stay there, you're safe. However, if you set one toe in the boundaries of Reefside, rest assured that the results should we catch you will be drastic and immediate. We will not hesitate to take your presence here as a threat worthy of our full attention and power. This is your one and only warning. Dino Thunder Red."

Everyone was looking at her in shock now, even their teachers.

"Have all of the letters been like that?" Udonna asked in surprise.

"No," Chip said, shaking his head. "The first one was an application, but we're pretty sure that was a mix-up. And the other one—well, it kind of gave us some answers. But there weren't any threats of any kind…"

"So why would this team be different?" Daggeron said, looking at them.

The younger rangers just shrugged in confusion.

"Maybe we make them nervous," Xander suggested. "We are really close to Reefside. So maybe they feel like we're encroaching on them—you know, stepping on their toes? They were the last team."

"Like they're not quite ready to let go of being rangers?" Vida said.

Xander nodded, but Nick just snorted.

"They're just mad that it's not their turn anymore and threatened because of how good we are," he said, his arms crossed. "Too bad for them."

Leanbow raised an eyebrow and Nick back downed a little, but he was still clearly agitated by the threatening letter.

"Let's just stay away from them for now," Madison said, looking around at the group. "None of us have a reason to go to Reefside anyways."

She glanced at Vida, who grimaced slightly but didn't say anything. The others nodded.

"You're right, Maddy," Chip said. "Maybe they'll come around if we leave them be for now."

"Give them a chance," Leanbow agreed. "Perhaps there has just been a misunderstanding."

"Maybe," Chip said. "But it doesn't get us any closer to meeting anyone…"

Udonna smiled.

"You will get there," she said. "But for now, be patient."

"And focus on your training," Daggeron added. "Are you guys ready to try again?"

Looking at each other, the five younger rangers nodded eagerly.

"Let's go," Nick grinned.

* * *

"Guys! Guys!" Chip shouted, pounding on doors as he bounced down the hall. "Wake up! You've gotta get up!"

Doors started flying open around him and his teammates came stumbling out of their rooms. All of them still looked half-asleep, pajamas on and hair all over, but they had their wands out and ready as they looked around for trouble. Chip stopped, looking at his teammates with an amused look.

"What's going on?" Nick demanded. "Where's the danger?"

"Danger?" Chip repeated, looking at him in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, there had better be something wrong," Vida said, starting to lower her wand. "Or I'm going to kill you."

"Chip, why on earth would you come pounding on our doors like that if there's nothing wrong?" Xander yawned, still ready to fight the unseen enemy.

"Umm… Because it's almost noon and I figured you were all awake," he said slowly. "Even if you were in your rooms…Why are you all still in your pajamas?"

They were all glaring at him now.

"So there's really nothing wrong?" Madison asked, dropping her arm.

"Not that I know of," Chip said. "Why? Did I miss a fight or something? And you still didn't answer my question…"

"We're in our pajamas," Nick said shortly, putting away his wand, "because we were up all night training. We've barely been asleep for three hours."

As if on cue, yawns went around the room now that the scare of danger was over.

"All night?" Chip said in surprise. "Why?"

"Because Daggeron and Leanbow decided not having you around was a good way to prepare us for moving in the dark if we didn't have a light source," Vida muttered. "Something about learning to deal with the disadvantage on the off chance something happened to you."

Chip snickered.

"Sounds like fun," he said.

"Oh yeah," Xander grumbled. "Because stumbling around in the dark trying not to trip over each other is our idea of fun."

"Why didn't you guys just make a torch?" Chip asked.

"We tried…" Madison sighed, yawning.

She had moved to stand next to Nick, leaning against him sleepily as he put an arm around her shoulders.

"But after we nearly started a forest fire, we decided against it…" she finished, stifling another yawn. "So it took us all night to track down Leanbow and Daggeron. I still don't know how we managed it…"

Nick snorted.

"I'm pretty sure they decided to just stop trying," he said. "And the sun was coming up…"

"Pretty much…" Vida agreed. "I still think they just came back here and left us wandering in circles all night."

"But they said they were out there," Xander said. "And they wouldn't lie to us."

The others sighed, nodding. Chip frowned.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Daggeron and Leanbow were out all night?"

"Yeah, why?" Xander asked.

"Because they were outside sword fighting when I came in," he said. "And they didn't seem tired at all."

The other four groaned.

"Of course not," Vida grumbled.

"Anyways," Nick said. "Chip, why did you wake us up? Because I'd rather still be sleeping."

"Oh! Right!" Chip exclaimed. "Look what we got."

Grinning, he held up a thin envelope stamped with a red seal.

"Another one?" Madison said. "Who's it from?"

"Lightspeed," Chip answered.

"So are you going to open it?" Vida asked, somewhat impatient. "You already woke us up."

Chip nodded. Not needing anymore encouragement, he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. He scanned through it, his face falling quickly.

"What is it?" Nick asked, frowning.

Sighing, Chip read the letter out loud.

"Mystic Force," he read, sounding disappointed. "We appreciate your interest in our program, but, unfortunately, we are not accepting applicants at this time. Thank you for your interest and good luck in your future endeavors. Lightspeed Rescue…"

He trailed off, his shoulders drooping as his hands fell to his sides.

"The whole thing was stupid…" he mumbled, looking down at the ground. "None of them want anything to do with us…"

The other four exchanged grim looks. They were all disappointed by the results, but it was hitting Chip the hardest.

"Don't let it get to you," Vida said. "There are still plenty of other rangers to hear from. And maybe it was just another mix-up. They might not have even read the letter if it got mixed up in other stuff."

"Sis is right," Madison quickly agreed. "It probably got mixed up in all their other stuff so they just sent a standard response. I'm sure it's nothing. Let's wait and see what else we get."

"Yeah, I guess…" Chip sighed.

"Oh, good, you're up," Udonna interrupted, coming down the hall. "And Chip, you're home."

She smiled at him and he made an effort to smile back.

"Just got back," he said.

"Well, then all five of you can get to work," she said. "Leanbow told me you didn't complete the exercise last night—so they have another one waiting for you."

The rangers groaned, but Udonna just raised an eyebrow.

"Bowen?" she said expectantly.

"Alright, we're going," he sighed. "Come on, guys. Let's get dressed and get back to work. We've gotta head to the shop later, too…"

Momentarily distracted from the letter, the rangers scattered to change and get ready for another day of training and work.

* * *

"Where's Chip?" Vida asked, looking around the shop.

She'd just gotten to the Rock Porium after spending the morning out in the magical realm with Daggeron. Madison, Xander, and Nick looked up from what they were doing and shrugged.

"He went back to Rootcore a couple of hours ago," Madison said. "Said he had things to do."

"Things?" Vida said, raising an eyebrow. "What things?"

"No clue," Xander answered. "He wouldn't tell us. But he's still kind of depressed over the letters. The answers aren't what he hoped for."

Vida sighed, shaking her head. All of them had been hoping for something more, but Chip had been more excited about it than any of them. So the lack of positive response had hit him hardest. It had been several days since they'd received the response from Lightspeed and he'd been moping around ever since.

"Has anyone checked again today?" she asked.

"Nope," Nick said. "Unless you count Toby. He grabbed the mail earlier and took it in his office. We haven't seen him since."

Rolling her eyes, Vida headed toward Toby's office.

"What are you doing, sis?" Madison asked.

"Checking the mail," she said. "Someone has got to tell us something other than they're not interested—or threaten us."

"If you find one you'd better read it first," Nick said, leaning on the counter as she paused with her hand on the doorknob. "Cause if there's another letter like the other ones he's better off not knowing."

Vida nodded, slowly opening the door and poking her head inside.

"Toby?" she said. "Was there anything in the mail for us?"

He didn't look up from the puzzle he was working on, pointing absently to the pile on the corner of his desk. Vida slipped the rest of the way inside the office and walked over to his desk. Picking up the pile, Vida quickly sifted through it. She was almost to the bottom of the pile when a slim envelope caught her attention. It was plain except for the red seal on the back—and it was addressed to Mystic Force.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Thanks, Toby!"

Darting back outside, she let the door swing shut behind her. Xander, Nick, and Madison were waiting expectantly. They all looked nervous when she held up the letter.

"What does it say?" Xander asked.

"Should I really open it?" Vida asked.

When all three of her teammates nodded, Vida took a deep breath and opened the letter.

* * *

"Chip!" Vida shouted, hurrying into Rootcore. "Chip, where are you?"

Clare, who was working on a potion, glanced up.

"Oh, hi Vida," she smiled. "Chip is out on the balcony swing."

Vida stopped in surprise.

"Clare," she said. "You're actually home. I feel like we never see you anymore."

Clare sighed, nodding.

"Being a full sorceress keeps me a lot busier than I thought it would," she said. "Especially since Udonna has stepped down. Everyone needs me almost constantly."

Vida gave her a sympathetic look.

"Well, I'd love to stay and talk," Vida said. "But you look busy and I really need to talk to Chip. He needs to see this."

She held up the letter.

"Go ahead," Clare smiled. "I'll see you around."

Nodding, Vida darted toward the balcony. It didn't surprise her that he'd gone there. Chip liked sitting out on the balcony when he needed space or quiet to think in. Stepping outside, she paused for a minute to watch him sitting on the swing. He was facing away from her, leaning on the back of the swing as he stared out over the forest.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" she said, keeping the letter tucked out of sight for a moment.

Chip spun in surprise, jarring the swing as he did.

"Oh, V," he said. "Umm… What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," she said, plopping down on the swing next to him. "Clare told me you were out here."

He sighed, turning to look back out over the trees.

"Yeah…" he said. "I just didn't feel like being at the shop today. Toby didn't need me, so I came back here."

Vida sighed.

"Chip, you do know it doesn't matter what they think, right?" she said. "We're rangers no matter what they say."

"I know," he mumbled. "But I really wanted to meet some of them…"

"Don't give up," she said. "Not all of the rangers are so ready to dismiss us."

Chip frowned, looking back at her again.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

A smile spreading across her face, Vida pulled the letter out from behind her.

"We got another one," she said. "And I think you're going to like it."

Chip hesitated, but took it. Ignoring the fact that it was already opened, he fixated on the seal.

"Do you know whose seal that is?" he exclaimed, sounding a little more excited now.

He looked up at Vida who grinned in response.

"This is Zeo red!" he exclaimed. "It's from one of the oldest teams. What did it say?"

"Why don't you read it and find out?" Vida said, leaning back in the swing.

Eagerly, Chip pulled the letter from the envelope and started reading.

_Mystic Force Rangers,_

_Congratulations on completing your mission. You have done well in upholding the legacy that was laid out before you and I applaud your success. Your entry into the ranks of the Power Rangers is almost complete. _

_Having said that, there is something you must understand. As a whole, the rangers strive to keep their identities a secret from the general population. So, while I understand the purpose of your letters, I must also point out that the letters will yield no results from any team until permission is passed along the chain of command. That chain is what has held us together all of these years and will continue to bind the rangers together as a unit, no matter how spread out we may have become. It keeps us safe and protects our identities. _

_Therefore, I encourage you to continue trying to contact the original Mighty Morphin' red ranger. As the first red ranger here on Earth, the decision to meet with you and give you access to the rest of the ranger network currently lies with him. No other ranger team will meet with you or initiate contact with you in any way until they have his permission. _

_As I'm sure you already know, he can be difficult to contact when he wants to be. Be patient and keep trying—he'll come around. He does, after all, have your best interests at heart despite any differences that may have arisen. So do not allow his silence and distance to discourage you. Just give him time. _

_Remember, no matter what anyone says you are all true rangers now. You have proven yourselves in battle and defeated your enemy. Whether he sees it yet or not, you belong among the ranks. So don't allow his distance or the distance of the other teams to stop you. They are only following his lead as we do in everything concerning the rangers. _

_And, if you ever truly need help, I am—as I have always been—ready to step in to help you in any way I can no matter what may now lie between us. So stay strong and everything will eventually fall into place. I look forward to hearing about your official admittance into our ranks._

_May the Power protect you all, _

_ Zeo Red_

By the time Chip finished reading the letter, he was grinning. They had finally heard something promising from the rangers. He looked up to find Vida smiling as she waited for him to say something.

"This is great!" he exclaimed. "Not only is it from one of the older teams, but he actually kind of explained what's going on. And a whole lot better than Wild Force's letter did…"

"Feeling better?" Nick asked from the doorway.

Chip and Vida turned to see the other three watching them from the door.

"We were hoping the letter would help," Madison added, smiling when she saw how much happier Chip looked.

Xander, Nick, and Madison joined Chip and Vida, crowding around the swing.

"So what next?" Xander asked. "You got your answer. They won't meet with us til they get permission."

Chip frowned, looking at the letter again.

"I don't know," he said, losing some of the excitement. "I mean, we still haven't heard anything from the Mighty Morphin' team at all, let alone their red. What if he really doesn't want to meet us?"

The others exchanged looks.

"Chip, that's nonsense," Vida said firmly. "The letter had to have gotten lost along the way. Zeo did say he was hard to get a hold of."

"And he explained why the others have seemed so hostile," Madison said. "They aren't supposed to talk to us."

"Still no reason to threaten us though," Nick muttered, shaking his head.

"Well, they are the closest," Madison reasoned. "So they were probably afraid we might try coming over there on our own."

Nick just shrugged.

"The point is," Vida said. "We're going to keep trying, just like the letter said. He has to respond eventually."

Chip nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you're right," he said. "We have to keep trying."

The other four smiled.

"So then what's the plan?" Xander asked again.

"We're waiting on you," Nick said. "You've got the lead on this one, Chip."

For a moment, Chip didn't say anything as he studied the letter again. Then he looked up.

"I guess we can send another letter," he said slowly. "But how do we know if it gets there?"

"We don't," said Vida. "But we'll just keep sending them until we get an answer. They can't ignore us forever."

Nick, Xander, and Madison were nodding in agreement. Chip took a deep breath.

"Alright," he said, a smile spreading across his face again. "Let's do it. We'll send letters to all of the original team and keep sending them until they answer one way or another."

Grinning, Vida hopped up and held out a hand to Chip.

"Let's go," she said.

Pulling him off the swing, she pulled him after her back into Rootcore with the rest of the team following behind.


	43. Chapter 43

A small flash of light caught Jason's attention and he glanced up from his computer. Seeing what had just dropped onto his desk, he frowned and reached over. It was another letter.

"Just great," he muttered, sticking it straight into his shredder. "Can't they take a hint? I thought not answering the first time would get the point across."

Shaking his head, he went back to what he was working on.

"Jason!" Trini shouted from upstairs. "Jason, get up here!"

Looking up, Jason frowned again. Trini sounded upset about something. Standing up from his desk, he headed up the stairs. He found Trini standing in the living room, looking at something in her hands.

"Trini, what's wrong?" Jason asked, walking toward her.

She spun. Seeing him, she held out what she was holding. It looked extremely familiar. Jason's eyes narrowed as he took the envelope from her. But this one wasn't addressed to him or to the Mighty Morphin' team. This letter was specifically addressed to the original Mighty Morphin' Yellow.

"Why would they send me one?" Trini asked anxiously, glancing back to where Mark and Rose were playing on the floor. "What if Mark had seen it?"

Jason shook his head.

"I don't know," he muttered. "But apparently they didn't take the hint."

"Jason, just answer them, then," Trini pleaded. "Tell them you don't want to see them—or meet with them and figure this out. They can't know that the letters will appear anywhere or maybe they'd stop, but they can't even try a different way because they don't know who we are. You have to talk to them."

"It's not happening," he said shortly. "If they want to talk to me, then they can call me. These letters are not the way to get back on my good side."

"Jason," Trini sighed. "They don't know who you are. All they know is their brother is mad at them. They don't know the red ranger is, too."

He just shook his head.

"I'm getting rid of this," Jason growled, turning to head back downstairs. "And then I'm calling the others. They've got to know they might get one, too, if they haven't already."

* * *

"I just sent out the next round of letters," Chip announced, walking into the Rock Porium. "We get anything in the mail?"

His teammates looked up from their tasks briefly, shaking their heads. The shop was fairly busy that afternoon, so Chip had slipped out to send the letters himself instead of them doing it as a group. It had been three months since they received the Zeo letter and there hadn't been anything else. They'd sent individual letters to each of the original rangers that day, planning to send more as time went along. So, when they hadn't heard anything else a month later, they'd sent another round. And now that another month had passed and they were partway through April without a response from any other team, they were sending another one.

"Haven't had time to check the mail," Xander said. "And Toby is out today, so he hasn't grabbed it. Can you check in the back for me?"

Nodding, Chip grabbed the list of albums Xander held out to him and darted toward the back. Soon he had lost himself in work with everyone else. By the time the rush died down, there shift was just about over. Leelee and Phineas came in, talking excitedly about the movie they had just been to.

"So did you hear anything?" Phineas asked, looking at the rangers.

"Nothing yet," Nick said, shaking his head. "But we're going to keep trying."

"I can't believe you guys are still trying," Leelee said. "I mean, I know you want to meet them and all, but it's been months since you've gotten anything. Why not just leave it alone?"

"Because we're part of that legacy now," Vida answered, leaning on the counter. "We've earned the right."

"Yep," Nick agreed, tossing Leelee the keys. "You two are closing tonight. We've got a session with Clare and Udonna on potion making. Good luck."

Leelee caught the keys, pocketing them as the five rangers headed out and toward the forest. Chip stopped at the mailbox as they passed and went through it quickly, not expecting anything that wasn't for Toby or the shop. So he was surprised to actually find a letter addressed to Mystic Force.

"Are you coming, Chip?" Vida asked expectantly, looking at him.

He stuck the rest of the mail back in the box for Leelee or Phineas to grab before they locked up and turned. The others were waiting a short ways down the sidewalk, watching him.

"We got a letter," he said, holding it up.

All four of them looked at it in surprise.

"Who's it from?" Madison asked. "Is it from him?"

Flipping over the letter, Chip shook his head as he looked at the seal.

"No…" he sighed. "It's from the Space Rangers."

"Took them long enough," Xander snorted.

"Come on, guys," Nick said, jerking his head toward the forest. "We can read it on the way. Mom won't be happy if we're late—again."

Nodding, Chip hurried to catch up and they all started walking again. He began opening the letter as they walked, trying to stay close to his teammates in an attempt to avoid tripping over something as he walked and read.

"Read it out loud, Chip," Vida said, glancing over her shoulder. "What does it say?"

Taking a deep breath, he started reading.

"To the rangers of Mystic Force," he read. "First of all, we would like to apologize for the delay in our response. Your letter was mixed up in some fan mail that we unfortunately have not had the opportunity to sort through until now. However, as sorry as we may be for the delay, this response will be the only one you receive from us for the time being. As we are sure you have heard from other teams, we will not act on your request until you have met with the original Mighty Morphin' Red. Though our identities are already known, we will not risk further compromising the identities of our fellow rangers. Therefore, we recommend that you wait for a response from him before you take further action. So, until we have further news on his decision, this will be our last communication with you. However, should you find yourself in an emergency situation that you cannot handle on your own, please do not hesitate to contact the rangers in any way you can. Remember, you don't have to send him letters. You have other means of contacting him if you just make the effort—we're sure he'll answer if you try hard enough. We're sure we'll see you soon enough. The Power protect you. Space Red."

By the time Chip had finished reading, they had reached Rootcore.

"So, how else are we supposed to contact him?" Vida commented. "Pick up a phone and call him? I'm pretty sure we don't just have his number lying around somewhere—it's not like one of them gave it to us."

The others shrugged.

"Who knows?" Xander said. "We can worry about it later. Let's get inside before Udonna can lecture us about being late."

Chip stuck the letter back in the envelope and they headed inside.

* * *

"No, I don't know how to make them stop," Jason snapped in exasperation. "If I did I would have done it already."

He grimaced as he listened to Kim on the other end of the line. They had all just received another letter—the second one in a week. It was June, now, and it had been nearly five months since the first round of letters appeared to all of the reds, but now the only ones still getting letters were the members of the original Mighty Morphin' teams.

"_Oh, you can make them stop," _she snapped back. _"You just don't want to. But if you don't do something about it soon, we're going over your head and you won't like the consequences."_

Jason sighed.

"What consequences?" he said wearily, rubbing a hand over his face.

She was the last of the rangers to have called—all in the hour since the letters had appeared and all of them extremely agitated about getting letters two days in a row. He was just grateful that there were no classes at the dojo that morning so he could handle the calls in private.

"_I'm going to hurt them," _she snarled. _"I can't keep getting these letters, Jason. Someone is going to see them and I'm going to hunt them down and hurt them."_

"At this point, I really wouldn't argue with that," Jason muttered. "But you are not allowed near Briarwood, remember? I haven't changed that."

"_One more letter and you won't have a choice," _she retorted. _"Your sisters and their friends won't know what hit them."_

"Kim, I swear," Jason growled. "If you go anywhere near Briarwood I'm going to find you and—"

"_And what, Jason?"_ Kim interrupted. _"Just what are you going to do? We listen to you and follow you out of respect for your color and position, not because it's required. You can't make us do what you want. And I'm warning you now—if you can't get those kids under control, I am going to do it myself whether you like it or not."_

"Kim," Jason tried again.

"_Just do something about it," _she hissed.

The phone line went dead. Kim had hung up on him.

"Great," he muttered, dropping his phone on the desk and rubbing a hand across his forehead. "Just great. Why can't those kids just let it go?"

Groaning, he leaned back in his chair to stare up at the ceiling, half tempted to turn off his phone before anyone else could call him. But the only one he hadn't spoken to was Trini. He didn't expect her to call, though he did expect to hear about it when he got home. Sighing, Jason straightened up and woke up his computer to try and get some work done before afternoon classes. Then his phone started ringing again.

"Just great," he muttered.

Picking it up, he didn't look at the caller ID before answering.

"What?" he snapped.

"_Alright, so apparently this was a bad time to call_," an extremely familiar voice commented. _"Guess I'll call back later—"_

"Don't you dare hang up, Tommy," Jason growled. "Or I will come hunt you down."

On the other end of the line, Tommy chuckled.

"_Ok, relax, Jase,"_ he said. _"I won't hang up. Now what's going on?"_

Jason sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"What isn't going on?" Jason muttered in response. "How about my sisters and their friends are in way over their heads, everyone here is freaking out, and Kim just threatened me from several states away?"

"_Oh, so things are fairly normal then," _Tommy commented.

Jason glared even though he knew Tommy couldn't see.

"So why have you suddenly decided you're talking to me again?" Jason asked abruptly, changing the subject. "You haven't spoken to me in almost six months and suddenly you're calling again. Why the change?"

Tommy sighed.

"_Rex, I'm sorry," _he said. _"It wasn't intentional. Well, not after a while. But then it always just seemed the wrong time to call…"_

"Mmm hmm…" Jason said doubtfully. "So does that mean you're going to tell me why you ran?"

There was a pause.

"_No, Jason, it doesn't," _Tommy finally answered. _"Not now. How are Mark and Rose doing?"_

Letting it go for the moment, Jason answered the question and soon they were talking as though the six months of silence had never happened. Jason caught Tommy up on what had been going on in Angel Grove while Tommy told him, albeit briefly, about how his dig was going. He didn't bother going into too much detail. He knew Jason would listen, but Tommy also that the first red ranger wasn't that interested in the specifics of what Tommy had found.

"Speaking of kids," Jason said a while later. "You need to control yours."

Tommy had just been asking about how Mark's karate classes were going. Now he hesitated, not entirely sure what Jason meant.

"_Umm… Jase?" _he said. _"There's not really a whole lot I can do until they're born."_

"Not those kids—wait, what?" Jason frowned. "Tommy, you're only having one and, unless you've been hiding another kid from me all these years, you don't have any other kids. I was talking about your team."

"_Right," _Tommy said. _"On the same page now. But didn't Hayley tell you?"_

"Tell me what?" Jason grumbled. "Every time I talk to your wife it turns into her yelling at me for one reason or another. Pretty sure she's afraid she's going to tell us something you don't want her to."

"_I guess she didn't, then," _Tommy muttered, sighing. _"Jase, we're having twins."_

Jason didn't answer right away, momentarily frozen in shock.

"You're having—what?" Jason sputtered.

"_Twins," _Tommy repeated. _"We're having twins."_

Jason burst out laughing.

"Oh man," he laughed. "That is great. How did you take that news?"

"_Better than Hayley expected me to, I think," _Tommy answered. _"We know it's going to be a lot more work, but we're both excited."_

"Your house is going to be crazy after they're born," Jason chuckled. "I suppose I should tell everyone else?"

"_May as well," _Tommy said. _"I thought they knew already."_

"Oh, don't worry," he said. "They'll know. When I decide to talk to them again because, frankly, I'm done talking to them for the day."

Both men fell silent for a moment as their conversation returned to a more serious note. Tommy sighed.

"_Hey Jase?" _he said.

"Yeah?"

"_I owe you an apology," _said Tommy.

Jason frowned.

"For what?" he asked.

Tommy took a deep breath.

"_I may have encouraged your sisters to continue trying to talk to you," _Tommy mumbled.

"What?" Jason growled, straightening up.

"_I didn't know they'd take the letters this far," _Tommy said quickly. _"I was just trying to encourage them to fix things with you. I was actually hoping they'd just call you."_

Jason grimaced, rubbing a hand over his forehead.

"Tommy, they don't know who I am," he said shortly. "They don't know who any of us are—except you. And I'm pretty sure they don't have the full story on you, either."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"_Well, that changes a few things," _Tommy muttered. _"Why didn't you tell me?"_

"Because you haven't been talking to me," Jason snapped. "And, like I said earlier, Hayley doesn't exactly hold coherent conversations with me right now. I can't get a straight answer out of her for anything and she never stays on the phone long enough for me to explain anything."

"_I know, Jase, and I'm sorry," _Tommy said. _"This wasn't how I wanted things to happen…"_

"You still haven't told me what happened," Jason pointed out.

"_And I'm not going to," _Tommy retorted.

"Tommy, c'mon," Jason started to argue.

"_Don't make me hang up on you, bro," _Tommy warned.

"Okay, okay," Jason said quickly, backing off. "Don't hang up."

Both were silent for a moment.

"_Jase, you've got to call your sisters,"_ Tommy said quietly. _"You can't ignore them forever."_

"Watch me," Jason growled. "They are way out of line."

"_And they have no idea," _Tommy pointed out. _"Jason, you just said it yourself—they don't know anything about you or the others. None of them have any idea of what they've actually done."_

"Doesn't matter," Jason said stubbornly. "What they did was wrong no matter what they thought they knew—they never gave you a chance to explain anything."

"_They have every right to be—" _Tommy started to say.

"Don't say it," Jason interrupted. "They have no right—"

"_Yes, they do, Jason," _Tommy snapped back. _"They have every right to be afraid of me. I remember what I did when they were little and so do they. And that's all they remember."_

"But none of that was your fault," Jason argued.

"_I didn't say it was," _Tommy retorted. _"But they don't know that and they won't until you talk to them."_

Jason muttered under his breath and Tommy sighed.

"_Rex, they're your sisters and you miss them," _he said. _"You can't deny that."_

"Wanna bet?" Jason muttered.

"_You miss them," _Tommy repeated. _"So call them and work this out. They need to understand what's going on—before they out someone with one of those letters."_

"There's no point," Jason sighed. "Yeah, sure. I miss them. But they don't want anything to do with me. They've made that clear. Neither one of them has bothered calling me all this time and the one time I've seen them since I went to Briarwood all they could do was hurl accusations at me."

"_They're mad," _Tommy said. _"You took my side instead of theirs—"_

"Because they were wrong."

"_Again, they don't realize that," _Tommy continued. _"The point is, they think you betrayed them and they don't know what to do. Call them, Jase. I'm not saying apologize, but talk to them. Meet with them and explain everything. Tell them who you are and fix things with them."_

Jason took a deep breath.

"I don't know, Falcon," he said, shaking his head as he rubbed a hand over his face. "How do I even know they'll answer?"

"_You don't," _Tommy said quietly. _"But you've got to try. And, if they don't answer or won't talk to you, at least you can say that you did try. After that, everything is on them."_

"I don't know," Jason said doubtfully.

Tommy yawned.

"_You've got to try," _he said again. _"Because those letters have to stop soon. It's not hard for me to hide them—considering I'm currently confined to my tent—but who knows where you or any of the others might be when the next one shows up."_

"Yeah, I know," Jason muttered darkly.

He paused, frowning as what Tommy said registered.

"Confined to your tent?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"_Yeah…" _Tommy sighed. _"It's difficult moving around right now, so Anton has me doing work that keeps me sitting down in the tent. Not that I mind that much. It's easier to examine our finds in the privacy of my tent without people constantly interrupting to ask questions. It would still be nice to actually be out and around the dig site, though." _

"Tommy, what are you talking about?" Jason asked.

"_Oh, umm…" _Tommy said. _"I'm guessing Hayley didn't tell you this either."_

"Tell me what?" Jason asked suspiciously, frowning.

"_I may have sprained my ankle rather badly," _Tommy muttered in answer.

Jason rolled his eyes.

"What did you do?" he sighed.

"_Hey, it wasn't my fault," _Tommy protested. _"Part of the dig site collapsed underneath me and I didn't get out of the way fast enough. So I got caught in the collapse…I'm fine though. It's just my ankle."_

Jason snorted.

"It would be you it collapsed under," he said, shaking his head. "You sure you're alright?"

"_I'm fine," _Tommy said again. _"It's more inconvenient than anything else…"_

He paused, yawning again.

"_Anyways," _he said. _"Call your sisters."_

"Tommy, what time is it there?" Jason frowned.

"_Umm…3am," _Tommy answered.

"Then why are you still up?" Jason said, shaking his head again.

"_Because I didn't think you'd appreciate me calling you at my lunchtime," _Tommy yawned.

Pausing, Jason thought about it and then nodded.

"No, I don't think I would have," he agreed. "And I'll think about it."

"_Jason, call them," _Tommy insisted. _"You know Maddy has to want to talk to you. And V may be stubborn as you are, but I'll bet you anything she misses you, too."_

"Alright, alright," Jason relented. "I'll call them. I still don't think it's going to do any good, but I'll call them."

"_Good," _Tommy mumbled. _"I'll tell Hayley that."_

"Why are you telling your wife?" Jason asked.

"_Because she'll make sure you do," _Tommy said.

"You shouldn't be asking her to spy on me," Jason frowned.

"_Don't have to ask," _Tommy yawned. _"She'll do it anyways."_

"Go to sleep, Tommy," Jason grumbled. "I'll let you know how the conversation goes if they answer—if you'll answer your phone, that is."

"_I'll answer if I'm not working or sleeping," _Tommy promised. _"Now go call them."_

"Goodnight, Falcon," Jason said, rolling his eyes.

"_Night, Rex," _Tommy yawned. _"Try not to be too mad at them."_

Shaking his head, Jason hung up the phone and set it down on his desk. Sighing, he leaned back to stare up at the ceiling again as he tried to convince himself to pick the phone back up and call his sisters. His phone went off and Jason sat up, frowning. Glancing at the phone, he rolled his eyes when he found a text from Tommy telling him to call. As he was holding it, a second text from Hayley followed telling him the same thing. It also said something about monitoring his phone to make sure he actually did call.

"For goodness sakes," he muttered, texting them both back. "I'm calling. Just give me a moment."

Sending the text, Jason took a deep breath and hit the speed dial for Madison's phone before he could talk himself out of it again. Putting it to his ear, he waited for it to ring. But it went straight to voicemail. Not wanting to leave a message, Jason hung up and tried Vida instead. The same thing happened with her phone.

"Alright, they're probably just busy," Jason told himself, setting his phone down again. "They do work and both of them said that their phones don't work well in the magical realm. I'll try again later."

Now that he had tried calling, he really did want to get a hold of them. So, resolving that he was going to try them later that afternoon, he went back to work. But, later that day, he got the same results. Both phones just kept going straight to voicemail. Getting more frustrated, Jason made it through the rest of the evening before calling them one last time just before bed with Trini's encouragement. But when there was still no answer, he gave up.

"I'm done," he muttered. "It's not worth my time if they don't want to try."

Before putting his phone away and turning off the light, he sent a text to Tommy.

**They won't answer or call back. I'm done trying. **

Tossing his phone on the bedside table, Jason rolled over to go to sleep.


	44. Chapter 44

Madison sighed, staring off the balcony. She'd been studying all evening for one of the summer classes she was taking, but she couldn't concentrate. It had been almost a year now since the whole fight with Jason had started and they hadn't even spoken since just after Christmas. Finally giving up on studying, she closed the book and leaned on the railing.

"Maybe I should call him," she said quietly, talking to herself.

"Call who, sis?" Vida said from behind her.

Madison jumped in surprise, turning to look at her sister.

"Oh, umm… no one," she said quickly, knowing full well how Vida felt about Jason still.

"Uh-huh," Vida said, dropping down onto the swing next to her twin. "Well, you just talked to dad last night, so I'm pretty sure it's not him. And the only other guys you'd be calling for anything anymore are in their rooms—no phone call necessary."

Madison sighed, dropping her gaze to her lap.

"Maddy, what's the point?" Vida said, leaning back against the seat and staring up at the evening sky. "He obviously doesn't want to talk to us. The last time we saw him he flipped out and took off. And he hasn't bothered to call since. We're better off leaving it alone."

"I know," Madison said, leaning back with Vida. "But he's our brother—we can't avoid him forever, sis. Mom will get the three of us together again one way or another."

"And we'll deal with that when the time comes," Vida shrugged. "You can't tell me you really want to get in a fight with him again right now."

She sat up, crossing her arms as she looked at Madison.

"No," Madison mumbled. "I just hate the way things are…I wish he would call…"

For a moment Vida said nothing, and then she sighed, leaning back again.

"Yeah," she said. "So do I…"

_**The Twins Graduate**_

"_Congrats, girls," Jason smiled, holding out his arms for a hug. "I'm proud of both of you."_

_Smiling, Vida and Madison hurried over to hug him, trying not to get run over in the swirling crowd of graduates, friends, and families. Both of them were holding tightly to their diplomas, grinning from ear to ear. _

"_So where were you, big brother?" Vida asked, smacking Jason on the arm as he let go. "Because you definitely weren't here before everything started. Trini was here with Mark, but she told us you were driving separately."_

"_Did you even see the ceremony?" Madison added, crossing her arms as she looked up at him._

_Jason sighed._

"_Yes, I saw the ceremony," he said. "The only thing I missed was all of you walking in to your chairs. So, nothing too important."_

_The girls rolled their eyes. Behind them, Mr. and Mrs. Rocca were smiling as they shook their heads, only half paying attention while they spoke with some of the other parents. _

"_Then why were you late?" Vida demanded, glaring at him._

"_I was picking up your present," Jason said defensively._

_The girls exchanged a confused look._

"_Umm… Jason?" Madison said. "Don't you think that could have waited? I mean, we are having a party tomorrow. That's when everyone else is bringing gifts…"_

_Jason snorted._

"_Yeah, I don't think that would have worked," he said. "I think I'd have been in trouble for waiting that long…"_

"_You got that right," someone else said off to the side. "I'd have killed you if you left me at the airport that long."_

_The girls spun in surprise._

"_Tommy!" they exclaimed in unison, running to hug him._

_He laughed, hugging them back. The girls started talking excitedly at the same time. Neither had expected to actually see him there. _

"_Slow down," Tommy laughed. "I can only understand you both at once if you're saying the same thing."_

_The girls blushed and paused for a moment._

"_When did you get home?" Madison asked._

"_Yeah, weren't you stuck in a desert somewhere?" Vida added. _

"_Just got back," Tommy answered. "That's why Jason was late. He was picking me up. And yes, I was stuck in a desert until about… hmm…"_

_He glanced at his watch, frowning. _

"_19 hours ago?" he said hesitantly. "Anyways, the point is, I'm back. A little later than planned, but I made it."_

_Originally, Tommy was supposed to have been home two days prior to graduation. However, he'd been on a dig out in the desert near Morocco and, when they had tried to return to civilization so he could fly back to the States, their vehicles had broken down leaving him and the crew stranded in the desert. Fortunately they had still had enough supplies to last a while, but he'd had to tell the girls—through Hayley—that he wasn't going to make it back in time for their graduation. _

"_Tommy," Mrs. Rocca said, frowning as she looked at him. "When was the last time you slept?"_

_He paused, thinking, and then shrugged._

"_No idea," he said. "But I think it's been a while."_

_She sighed, shaking her head._

"_Why didn't you sleep on the plane?" Trini asked, holding tightly to Mark's hand as he tried to take off after something._

_Tommy took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair._

"_I tried to," he muttered. "But I got stuck in coach on an international flight between a married couple who probably shouldn't be married… They spent the entire flight arguing in Hindu…"_

_He sighed, shaking his head. _

"_Anyways," he continued. "Sleep didn't happen. And then Jason picked me up and we came straight here. He didn't even give me a chance to clean up."_

_He glanced down at himself before shooting a look at Jason. Tommy's clothes were rumpled and dusty from being out in the desert. In addition to the dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping, it was also apparent that he hadn't shaved in several days and his hair, usually spiked up, was all over the place. _

"_Jason," Trini said, shooting a look at her husband._

"_What?" he said, putting his hands up. "I didn't want to miss anything. If I had stopped to let Tommy change, we really would have been late."_

"_Oh, yeah," Tommy snorted. "Because giving me ten minutes to change my clothes and wash up really would have made that big of a difference."_

"_Hey, I wasn't missing their graduation," Jason protested. "Besides, I wasn't sure where they'd fall in the line-up of like three hundred students."_

_Tommy rolled his eyes._

"_Yes, because figuring out where 'Rocca' falls in the alphabet is difficult," he said drily. _

_Jason glared at him._

"_Now, now, boys," Trini said, interrupting. "Play nice."_

_The girls snickered, grinning at each other._

"_Tommy?" a surprised voice said._

_Hayley had just walked up next to Jason and was looking at Tommy in surprise._

"_Oh, there you are," Tommy said. "I figured you were around here somewhere."_

_He moved over to give her a hug and a kiss as she continued to look at him in shock. _

"_Yes," she finally said. "I was talking to—that's not important. When did—how—what are you doing here? I thought you were stuck in a desert in Morocco."_

_Tommy frowned._

"_Well, I was," he said. "We covered that… Jason?" _

_He turned to look at his best friend._

"_Jase, didn't you tell her you were picking me up from the airport today?" he asked._

_Jason raised an eyebrow._

"_Tommy, she's your wife," he said. "Your brand new wife, actually. You've been married for what, five months? Why didn't you call her to tell her you had a way home?"_

"_Oh, I don't know," Tommy grumbled. "Maybe because you only gave me thirty minutes warning before the jeep showed up to pick me up in Morocco. I only had time to pack what I could fit in the one bag!"_

"_Hey, I had to call in a lot of favors to get you that jeep," Jason countered. "It's a good thing I had all of those connections from the Peace Conference in high school or—"_

_Trini cleared her throat, interrupting. _

"_You have connections?" she asked, raising an eyebrow._

"_Ok, Trini has connections," he relented. _

"_Well you're the one who left halfway through," she reminded him._

"_I had to come back to—" he started to protest, halting abruptly. "I—well…I had my reasons…"_

_He trailed off, frowning as Trini, Tommy, and Hayley all exchanged amused glances. _

"_The point is," Jason said after a moment. "I got you a jeep. And you could have called Hayley on the way."_

_Tommy sighed, running a hand through his hair a he glanced sheepishly at Hayley._

"_Actually," he mumbled. "I'm pretty sure my cell phone is still in a tent in Morocco…"_

"_Oh, Tommy," Hayley said, shaking her head as she tried not to laugh. "We're going to have to get you a new one again, aren't we?"_

"_No," he said. "They're going to mail the rest of my stuff. It just might take a couple of weeks—or months…"_

"_You are not going a couple of months without a phone," Hayley said, crossing her arms. "We're getting you a new one."_

"_Yeah… Probably should," Tommy said. "But I have everything else important—or not."_

"_What else did you lose?" Vida asked, grinning. _

"_Pretty sure I left my keys there, too," Tommy muttered, feeling his pockets._

_Hayley sighed._

"_Oh, good," she said. _

_The girls were laughing now as Tommy started checking the rest of his pockets. _

"_Yep, forgot my keys," he said, stifling a yawn._

"_When was the last time you slept?" Hayley asked, eying him._

_He shrugged._

"_I don't know," he said, looking at his watch again. "What time is it there? And are we counting the time change?"_

_He was frowning at his watch, concentrating as he tried to calculate an accurate time. Hayley sighed._

"_Well, that answers my question," she said. "Tommy, you need to sleep."_

"_I can sleep later," he said, waving it off. "Besides, weren't we going to take them out?"_

_He frowned as he spoke, checking his pockets._

"_So, I may have forgotten—no, I have to have that," he said. _

_Hayley raised an eyebrow as the girls giggled again. _

"_I have my wallet," Tommy said. "And my passport. Somewhere…"_

"_You have to have them," Madison said. "They wouldn't have let you back in the country without them."_

"_Tommy, aren't those in the front seat of my car?" Jason asked._

"_Probably…" Tommy sighed. "I really don't remember…"_

"_Come on, girls," Mr. Rocca said, shaking his head. "You've got a lot of friends who want pictures with you. Including two rather impatient boys."_

_Xander and Chip were standing off to the side, grinning as they watched the group. Madison and Vida nodded, but before they took off they ran up to Jason._

"_Thank you, big brother!" Vida said as they both hugged him. "Best graduation present ever."_

_Madison nodded in agreement._

"_We can definitely share this one," she said. "And we'll be back in a little bit. Maybe you should let Tommy change…"_

_Jason rolled his eyes, but they just laughed. Xander and Chip joined them and the four graduates started talking excitedly. Hayley was fussing over Tommy, still trying to convince him they could do dinner another night. _

"_Alright," she sighed, relenting. "Then let's go get your stuff because you are not going out to eat looking like that."_

"_Come on," Jason said, pulling his keys out. "Let's go get his stuff."_

_Tommy and Hayley started to follow him out and then Tommy stopped. _

"_Hayley," he said, frowning. "I don't think I have my bag…"_

_She groaned, rubbing a hand over her face._

"_Don't listen to him, Hayley," Jason said over his shoulder. "It's in the back of my car. He put it there himself. He's just crazy."_

"_Oh, right," Tommy said sheepishly, quickly following Jason as everyone burst out laughing. _

* * *

Glaring at the letter that had appeared on his desk a few minutes ago, Jason suddenly picked it up and stuck it in his shredder. Three days in a row—they had officially crossed the line. His cell phone, which was sitting on the desk, started vibrating. Groaning, Jason reached for it.

"And let the games begin," he muttered, glancing at the caller ID. "I know, Zach, I know. There was another—"

But he was interrupted by a panicked burst of words he barely understood. Zach was talking too fast for him to get complete sentences out of the barrage of words. All he got was something about Zach's secretary, a letter, and coming over.

"Whoa, hold on a second," Jason said, interrupting. "Since when were you dating your secretary and why on earth are you going to hide at my house?"

Zach groaned.

"_I'm not dating my secretary!" _he cried.

"Then what's going on?" Jason sighed. "And at a speed I can actually understand."

"_It's your sisters!" _Zach snapped.

Jason groaned.

"I know about the letters, Zach," he muttered. "What does that have to do with your secretary?"

"_I just got another one of those stupid letters," _Zach growled.

"Yeah, I just got another one, too," Jason said shortly, glancing at his shred bin. "Pretty sure I just said that."

After the first round of individual letters, they'd all gotten the same thing for the next two months. Then, after three months of one letter a month, Mystic Force had started sending them once a week. That had started about two months before. And now they had gotten three in one week. They weren't getting the hint and it was really starting to irritate him.

"_Jason, I was at work!" _Zach shouted into the phone. _"My secretary saw the letter!"_

Jason froze, at a loss for a moment. So far, all of them had avoided anyone else seeing something they shouldn't. But he should have counted on it happening sooner or later. He took a deep breath, now understanding Zach's panic.

"Ok, breathe," he said. "What exactly did she see?"

"_She walked into my office right as the stupid thing appeared above my desk," _Zach exclaimed. _"And I know she saw it because she stopped in her tracks. I covered as best I could and bolted before she could ask too many questions…"_

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"What did you tell her?" he asked.

"_I'm not exactly sure," _Zach said. _"I was panicking. But it was something about learning magic tricks to entertain my friends' kids when babysitting…"_

"And she bought it?" Jason said in surprise.

"_I really hope she did," _he said. _"But I'm hiding at your house until I know for sure. I don't want that kind of attention."_

Jason frowned.

"I understand that," he said. "But why do you need to hide at my house?"

"_Because it's out of L.A.," _he answered.

"And so is your parents' house," Jason pointed out. "Can't you just stay there?"

"_Yeah right," _Zach snorted. _"Not a chance when I'm worried about being outed. You're stuck with me until something happens—you are going to do something about this, right?"_

Jason sighed, not answering for a moment. The letters had finally gone too far. As much as he still didn't want to talk to them at all, he had no choice but to deal with this now. Their identities were at stake now.

"I'll handle it," Jason growled. "Just don't kill yourself on the way here. One way or another, I'm going to make them stop."

Hanging up with Zach, Jason turned off his computer and headed for the door. Rocky and Adam, who were getting ready for the next class, looked up as he stormed out of his office.

"Jason, is everything alright?" Adam asked.

"PR issue," Jason snapped. "The latest round of letters has come a little too close for comfort. And now I've got no choice but to go deal with the rookies before they ruin everything."

Adam and Rocky exchanged grim looks.

"Go ahead," Rocky said. "We can cover here. Take care of the problem."

Nodding curtly, Jason grabbed his keys and headed out the door. When he arrived home a short time later, Trini was surprised to see him.

"Jason, why are you home so early?" she asked. "Don't you have classes this afternoon?"

"Adam and Rocky are taking them," he said shortly. "I have something else to deal with."

Trini frowned.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Jason glanced over at the kids and shook his head in response. Mark and Rose, seeing Jason home, came running over for hugs. For a moment his face softened as he smiled at them, giving his kids a hug.

"Why don't you go play with your rangers, Mark?" Jason said. "Let Rose play, too."

It didn't take a lot of encouragement for Mark to run for his favorite toys. It also didn't take much to get Rose to follow him. Nearly a year old, she was walking now and loved following her big brother everywhere. Once the kids were out of earshot, Jason quickly and quietly explained to Trini what Zach had told him. Her eyes widened in shock. Being discovered was a fear shared by all of the rangers who weren't already known. They loved being rangers, but they had also seen how much being publically known could affect their lives. None of them would be able to live normally if their secret got out.

"So what are you going to do?" Trini asked softly.

"I'm giving them what they want," Jason growled. "A response. Although I doubt it's going to end up being the one they were expecting."

She nodded as he headed toward the basement and his office.

"And watch for Zach," he said, pausing at the top of the stairs. "He'll probably be here soon and he's a little freaked out right now. Send the kids to chase him around the yard or something to wear him out."

Smiling, Trini nodded as he disappeared. But the smiled slipped away as her mind returned to the issue at hand.

"Things have certainly gotten out of control," she sighed, going to find Mark and Rose.

Down in his office, Jason dug through his desk for his good pen and the paper he saved for things like this. He didn't usually hand write a lot of letters anymore as most of the rangers he could just call or email, but when they had first started introducing themselves to other teams he and Tommy had written a lot of letters similar to the one he was planning on writing now—though none of those had been under circumstances like the current one.

"Ah ha," he muttered, finding his pen and then the paper.

Laying them out on his desk, he got comfortable and pulled a sheet toward him. For a long time he wrote nothing, trying to keep his anger from influencing the words he'd be putting on the paper. Finally he started writing.

Several false starts and rewrites later, he finally finished. Satisfied with the contents of the letter, Jason folded it carefully and grabbed an envelope. He also took his seal out from its hiding place—somewhere the kids couldn't find it—so that he could mark the envelope. Most of the rangers had a seal of their own in some form.

"Now how do I make sure it gets to them on time?" he muttered, looking at the envelope on his desk.

Deciding to worry about that in a few minutes, he picked up his phone. Dialing, he took a deep breath as he leaned back in his chair.

"Andros?" he said when the call was answered. "Hey, it's Jason. I need a favor."


	45. Chapter 45

Eyeing the small shop in front of him, Ryan sighed and tucked his phone in his pocket.

"Should've listened to Tommy," he grumbled as he walked toward the door. "Should have just paid Jason the cash. But no. I'll just owe him a favor—no big deal. And now I'm here…"

Taking a deep breath, he pulled open the door and stepped inside. Not bothering to remove his sunglasses, he took a quick look around. The shop was empty except for four people, two of which he recognized from pictures.

"Ok, her hair was not pink in the picture," Ryan muttered to himself as he looked at Vida.

She was at the DJ booth, laughing as she danced to the music she was playing.

"What was that?" someone asked off to Ryan's right.

He turned to look more closely at who it was, looking the kid up and down and immediately dismissing him. Ryan hadn't seen any pictures of the boys, but he knew immediately that the kid at the counter wasn't the one he was looking for. He was wearing green under his uniform shirt meaning he had to be their green, Xander.

"Nothing," Ryan said dismissively, turning away again.

Scanning the store one more time, Ryan frowned when he didn't see the one he was looking for. Madison and Vida were both there with Xander along with one more boy with red hair. But he was wearing yellow which made him Chip.

"So, anyone else here?" Ryan asked casually, glancing toward Xander again.

Xander frowned.

"No, just us," he said slowly. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Ryan sighed.

"Maybe," he said. "Where's your boss?"

"Toby?" Xander said, sounding a little surprised. "He's not here today. But I'm the assistant manager so maybe I can—"

"Not that boss, kid," Ryan interrupted. "Your other one."

"I don't have another one," Xander frowned. "So what can I help you with?"

"Sure you do," Ryan scoffed. "And all I want to know is where I can find him—or at least when he's going to be back."

"What's your name?" Xander said. "I can try giving Toby a call—"

"Call me Ryan," Ryan said. "And no need."

Xander nodded and took a deep breath.

"Alright, Ryan," said Xander. "Why do you need Toby?"

"I don't need Toby," Ryan said impatiently. "I need the other one. Don't know his actual name. But I'm supposed to give this to him."

Ryan briefly held up the envelope he was holding—long enough for Xander to see it was a letter of some kind, but not quite long enough for him to read anything on it or see the seal. Xander sighed and held out a hand.

"I can give it to Toby when he comes in tomorrow," he said. "Or leave it on his desk. But he'll get it. You can trust me."

Ryan snorted.

"Sure, kid," he said. "But no can do. Has to go straight to him and no one else—boss's orders. And I am still not talking about Toby."

"Listen carefully," Xander said agitatedly. "The only boss I have is Toby. He isn't here today. If you won't give the letter to me, you'll have to come back tomorrow. If it's that big of an emergency I can call him, but—"

"You know what?" Ryan interrupted again, shaking his head. "I'll just wait. He's bound to show up sooner or later with the rest of you around. That's how it works."

Ryan turned and walked away from Xander, leaving the young ranger at the counter. Ignoring the stares of all four of the young rangers—the other three having been listening in from partway through the conversation—he stalked over to one of the armchairs where he would be able to see anyone coming in. Sitting down, Ryan made himself comfortable and pulled out his phone. After making sure the letter was tucked safely away and out of reach, he settled in to wait.

"Oh good," he muttered to himself, looking at his messages. "I haven't even been here five minutes and Rex is already texting me…"

* * *

_Name Key_

_Jason~Big Red_

_Trini~Tiger_

_Carter~Fearless Leader_

_Dana~Sis_

_TJ~Chocolate Thunder_

_Zach~Zach Attack_

_Tommy~Dino Doc_

_Hayley~Tech Queen_

_Ethan~Dinobrat 2_

_Kira~Dinobrat 3_

_Captain Mitchell~Dad_

* * *

_**Big Red: Have you given it to him yet? Don't stick around long. I don't want them cornering you. **_

**Ryan: Nope. I'm stuck here. You really should have planned this better—like sending me when he was actually present.**

_**Big Red: You mean none of them are there?**_

**Ryan: Four of them are. But you told me to give it to the red. He's not. **

_**Big Red: Well, make sure you give it to the red. I don't want it getting left around for someone else to see.**_

**Ryan: And that's why I'm still here. **

**How long am I supposed to wait?**

_**Big Red: Until he gets there.**_

**Ryan: … Great… Guess I'm texting Carter to tell him I'm going to be late. Don't wanna get locked out of Aqua Base…**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

**Ryan: I'm going to be late getting home. Can you make sure they don't lock me out?**

_**Fearless Leader: Of course.**_

_** Where are you? And why did you take one of my shirts?**_

**Ryan: I didn't take one of your shirts.**

_**Fearless Leader: We have you on camera, Ryan. You were in my room and when you left you were wearing a red shirt.**_

**NEW MESSAGE:**

**Ryan: By the way Jase…**

** [picture message: shows part of Ryan in the bottom corner with Vida at the DJ booth in the background]**

** You didn't tell me your sister's hair was pink.**

_**Big Red: I forgot she dyed it.**_

_** Ryan? Why are you wearing a red shirt?**_

**Ryan: It was laundry day and all of my shirts were dirty. So I borrowed one of Carter's. **

** He had like 20 of them piled up.**

** Don't worry, I'm still wearing black.**

_**Big Red: But black isn't even your color. It's silver.**_

**Ryan: Titanium.**

_**Big Red: Close enough. **_

**Ryan: Fine, brass ranger.**

_**Big Red: I'm gold, not brass!**_

**Ryan: Close enough. **

_**Big Red: Ok. I get your point. You still aren't wearing it.**_

**Ryan: I look better in black.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Fearless Leader: Are you going to answer me?**_

**Ryan: No**

_**Fearless Leader: But you just did.**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

_**Big Red: Is he there yet?**_

**Ryan. No.**

** Don't you think I'd tell you if I got to leave?**

** I'm bored already just sitting here. And Carter is starting to nag me about the shirt thing. **

_**Big Red: Do you have any idea when he's going to get there?**_

**Ryan: Not a clue. They wouldn't tell me.**

_**Big Red: Great… Just keep an eye on them. If anything too suspicious happens get out of there. I don't want to have to come fish you out of a situation.**_

**Ryan: Don't worry, I have my morpher. Never leave home without it.**

** And besides, you don't have to come fish my out. That's Carter's job.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

**Ryan: You were right, Tommy. Next time I listen to you and just pay up. I am never owing Jason a favor again.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Fearless Leader: Ryan, are you ignoring me?**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

_**Dino Doc: Makng you do somthing painfull?**_

**Ryan: Yeah. I'm here doing his dirty work for him.**

_**Dino Doc: I trid t warn you**_

**Ryan: And next time I'll listen to that.**

** Are you ok? You're spelling is a little off. **

_**Dino Doc: Yeah. I'm fne. I dont' hav my glases on.**_

**Ryan: Why?**

_**Dino Doc: I don' usuall wear them t bed.**_

**Ryan: Bed? What time is it there?**

_**Dino Doc: 2:13am  
**_

**Ryan: Oops. Forgot about the time change. Why are you answering a text at 2 in the morning?  
**

_**Dino Doc: **__**_**Jaes made me promse ot answer al messages right away aftr i ignored him.**_**_

** Ryan: My bad. Go back to sleep.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Big Red: You really shouldn't carry your morpher around casually like that…**_

_** But what's going on?**_

**Ryan: They're working, I'm sitting, Tommy's sleeping.**

_**Big Red: Yeah. He should be. It's nighttime wherever he is.**_

**Ryan: Well I know that now. **

_**Big Red: Ryan! Actually, I'm surprised he even heard the text. From what I've heard Anton has been keeping him pretty well drugged at night to make sure he doesn't go anywhere he shouldn't.**_

**Ryan: Drugged? Why?**

_**Big Red: He fell in a hole and sprained his ankle pretty bad. They could've gotten a cart, but with the letters and everything they decided the tent was better. Anyway he's fine now just easier to keep him confined.  
**_

**Ryan: Sounds like Tommy to me.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Sis: Ryan, stop ignoring Carter. We know you have your phone. Now where are you?**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

**Ryan: Zach, aren't you staying with Jason right now? Go tell him to stop bugging me.**

_**Zach Attack: Oh! You're texting Jason? Call him Goldie locks. I wanna see his reaction.**_

**Ryan: Alright. But if he asks I'm blaming it on you.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

**Ryan: By the way, Goldie locks, I am never owing you a favor again. I'm bored and they keep staring at me. **

_**Big Red: We'll see about that. Brb. I have to go kill Zach.**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

**Ryan: Run, dude. He's coming.**

_**Zach Attack: Oh, I'm already outta there. If you need me I'll be at my parents'.**_

**NEW MESSAGE  
**

_**Sis: Ryan, this isn't funny. Answer one of us.**_

**Ryan: I'm sorry, but you have reached Ryan's automated texting. He is not available right now. Please leave a text and he will get back to you as soon as possible.**

_**Sis: Ryan Mitchell! Answer me right now!**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

_**Tiger: Ryan, what did you say to Jason? He's more agitated now than when Tommy was ducking his calls.**_

**Ryan: Oh. Tommy is sleeping, he shouldn't be calling him right now.**

_**Tiger: You didn't wake him up, did you?**_

**Ryan: It was an accident…**

_**Tiger: *sigh* So did you deliver the letter yet?**_

**Ryan: No. He's not here!**

_**Tiger: I told Jason he should have checked before sending you over there…**_

**Ryan: No kidding. They're all staring at me…**

** Though it is kind of fun. I think I'm freaking them out. They don't know what to do with me. **

_**Tiger: Please behave yourself and don't embarrass us. Good luck.**_

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Sis: Ryan, you are so immature! Quit ignoring my phone calls!**_

**Ryan: No can do. Inappropriate audience for phone calls.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Big Red: Did you warn Zach? He got away…**_

_** And has he shown up yet?**_

**Ryan: Nope. Nothin. **

_**Big Red: You know that's really unhelpful. When are you going to grow up?**_

**Ryan: Don't know. Might not. It's more fun this way.**

** Angela said something about Peter Pan Syndrome once. But I stopped listening after she said syndrome.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Dinobrat 2: Are you in Briarwood?**_

_** You're phone says you're in Briarwood and we're not supposed to be in Briarwood.**_

_** I'm tracking your GPS. Hayley has the computer programmed to go off if anyone goes there.**_

_** Conner wants to know if you really are in Briarwood.**_

_** And if you've seen the rangers.**_

_** Have you seen the rangers?**_

**Ryan: Uh… What?**

_**Dinobrat 2: Seriously, man. Jason is gonna be ticked if he finds out you're in Briarwood without his permission. **_

_** And have you tracked down where their lair is? Cause if it's outside of Briarwood city limits it's fair game.**_

_** Jason wouldn't give us the exact location…**_

_** So can you give us one?**_

_** We won't tell him you told us.**_

**Ryan: No. I'm not there. Well, I am in Briarwood, but I'm not trying to find their base… Jason knows I'm here!**

_**Dinobrat 2: Darn…**_

_** Conner wants to know if you're there to punish the rangers.**_

_** Cause if you are we're coming to help. We already called dibs.**_

_** And we have a whole list of ideas.**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

_**Sis: Ryan, where are you that you can't answer my calls?**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

**Ryan: Jase, am I supposed to be talking to the Dino team? Ethan is spamming me…**

_**Big Red: No! Don't talk to them. They aren't even supposed to know you're there.**_

**Ryan: Well, they figured it out. Apparently Hayley has some kind of alert system set up to tell her if any of us come close to the city and Ethan and Conner saw me here…**

_**Big Red: Great… Just what I needed.**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

_**Dinobrat 3: Ryan, Hayley says I have to tell you to ignore Ethan and Conner.**_

_** And now that I told you that, please feel free to do whatever you want. We won't hold it against you.**_

**Ryan: Jason already shot it down, kid. But nice try. **

_**Dinobrat 3: *sigh* Worth a shot…**_

**NEW MESSAGE:  
**

**Ryan: Jason, I'm bored. Do I really have to wait for their red?**

_**Big Red: Yes! You know how this works, Ryan. **_

**Ryan: Doesn't mean I have to like waiting.**

_**Big Red: Play a game on your phone while you wait. **_

**Ryan: Don't have any.**

_**Big Red: I've seen your phone. You have like fifty games on it.**_

**Ryan: Not this one. Standard issue, no extras.**

_**Big Red: Since when do you have a standard issue phone?**_

**Ryan: Well…Since I broke my other one.**

** Angela wouldn't put anything other than my contacts on this one… Says I have to wait until my new phone comes in for that. **

_**Big Red: What did you do to it?**_

**Ryan: Umm… Long story short it's at the bottom of the bay and Chad said he wasn't going for it.**

_**Big Red: Somehow that doesn't surprise me…**_

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Tech Queen: Please disregard anything the kids may have said. I know why you're there and it would not be a good idea to instigate something when you're by yourself.**_

**Ryan: Don't worry. I'm just sitting here being mysterious and freaking them out without lifting a finger. It's fun. **

_**Tech Queen: By all means, then, carry on. **_

_** Oh, and by the way, don't text Tommy anymore. He really does need to sleep once in a while.**_

**Ryan: Sorry, Hayley…**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Dad: Stop ignoring your sister and Carter. **_

**Ryan: But I'm busy.**

_**Dad: Sure. Because it's that time consuming to drop off a letter.**_

**Ryan: Dad, I'm still here! Their red hasn't shown up yet…**

_**Dad: Alright, finish what you're there to do and then call your sister to apologize.**_

_** I should not have to do this. You are both adults, not children. **_

**Ryan: Aw, come on, dad. This is how we play. You missed this while we were growing up, so we're just making up for it now.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

_**Chocolate Thunder: so did youg ive them the leter yet**_

**Ryan: Who is this?**

_**Chocolate Thunder: tj**_

**Ryan: When did you have my phone?! I did NOT set your id to Chocolate Thunder.**

_**Chocolate Thunder: but thats what i am :)**_

**Ryan: Don't touch my phone.**

_**Chocolate Thunder: so did ya give it 2 them**_

_** andros wants 2 kno**_

**Ryan: Nope. Their red isn't here and Jason says I have to give it to him.**

_**Chocolate Thunder: well they better hurry theyre runnin out of time**_

**Ryan: I know. I'll tell you once I deliver it.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

**Ryan: Ok. I'm sorry. I promise I won't steal anymore of Carter's shirts.**

_**Sis: Thank you.**_

**Ryan: Unless I really, really need one.**

_**Sis: Ryan!**_

**Ryan: Ok, ok. Geez. I thought siblings were supposed to share.**

_**Sis: They should also ask permission instead of just taking something that doesn't belong to them. And stay out of other people's rooms. **_

_** Just ask next time. Please. **_

**Ryan: Alright. I will.**

**NEW MESSAGE:**

**Ryan: You know, next time I'm doing you a favor we need to plan this ahead. He's still not here…It's been two hours. **

_**Big Red: Oh, suck it up. I could've made you do something a lot worse. **_

**Ryan: Oh yeah? Like what?**

_**Big Red: I could have sent you to keep Tommy's kids busy while someone else delivered the letter.**_

**Ryan: NO! You know what, this is great! No problems here.**

_**Big Red: That's what I thought. **_

**Ryan: Someone just came in the back. Aha! He's here and I'm out!**

* * *

"That guy is seriously starting to creep me out," Vida muttered, glancing at the stranger in the chair again.

The other three nodded in agreement. They were all crowded around the front counter, talking quietly as they tried to decide what to do with Ryan. It had been just over two hours since he arrived and he hadn't moved from his seat—or even taken his jacket and sunglasses off.

"What do you think he wants?" Madison asked quietly, looking at Xander. "You talked to him."

"I don't know," Xander said, shaking his head. "All he would tell me is that he had a letter for our boss—but he won't let me take it. And he kept insisting it wasn't Toby. I think he's just crazy."

"But this is the only place we work," Chip frowned.

"And I told him that," Xander said. "He wouldn't listen."

"Should we ask him to leave?" Madison asked hesitantly.

They all paused, looking over at the man in the chair.

"Great idea," Vida said. "Xander, why don't you try? You're closest in size."

Xander scowled at her.

"Not a chance," he said. "Not by myself."

They all heard the back door open and turned.

"Nick's back," Madison said quickly. "I'm going to tell him what's going on."

Darting away, she went to intercept Nick before he came all the way inside. She found him hanging up his cloak in the breakroom and grabbing his uniform shirt.

"Hey, Maddy," he smiled as she came rushing up to him.

Seeing the look on her face, he frowned.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked, glancing behind her.

"It's nothing too serious," she said. "At least we don't think so…"

"Then what is it?"

Madison took a deep breath.

"There's a man here," she said, starting to explain as they headed out to the shop. "He says his name is Ryan and he got here about two hours ago insisting on talking to our boss."

"But Toby isn't here today," Nick frowned.

"And we told him that," she said. "But he claims it isn't Toby he wants. And he's just been sitting in a chair on his phone since—he hasn't even taken off his sunglasses. The guy is starting to creep all of us out…"

Walking out into the main shop, Nick nodded, his gaze quickly falling on the one person he didn't recognize, meaning he had to be the Ryan Madison had been talking about. To his surprise, the stranger was looking straight at him. Standing abruptly, he walked straight toward Nick.

"Took you long enough," Ryan said. "I was beginning to think you'd never show. Here—delivery for you."

Ryan thrust a letter toward Nick, which he grabbed to keep it from falling on the ground.

"Sir, I don't own this shop—" Nick started to protest.

"I'm aware of that," Ryan said.

He lowered his sunglasses for just a moment, peering over them to look Nick up and down. Nick scowled back.

"But I never said I was looking for the shop owner," he continued, settling his sunglasses back in place. "I said I was looking for their boss—that's you. And now that you have the letter, I'm out of here."

He turned, starting to head toward the door.

"I'd read that somewhere private," he said over his shoulder. "And as soon as possible. It's your last chance, so don't screw it up. You've already made yourself enough enemies for the moment. The Power protect you."

"Now wait a minute," Nick snapped. "What is all this about?"

Ryan paused in the doorway.

"Think it through, rookie," he smirked, giving them a quick two-fingered salute.

Then, without another word, Ryan slipped out and let the door shut behind him. For a moment, none of the young rangers moved. Then, suddenly, Chip snatched the letter out of Nick's hands.

"This is it!" he exclaimed excitedly, closely examining the back. "Guys, this is what we've been waiting for!"

"Chip, give that back," Nick said, taking the letter. "Now what are you talking about?"

He frowned as he looked over the envelope.

"It's addressed to Mystic Force…" Nick said slowly.

Chip nodded, bouncing in place.

"And the seal on the back is from the original Mighty Morphin' red!" he said triumphantly. "He finally answered!"

Everyone crowded closer to Nick as he flipped the letter over to see for himself.

"Wait a minute," Madison said, her head shooting up. "But Ryan was wearing—you don't think it was him, do you?"

They all exchanged looks and then all five darted for the door. Crowding out onto the sidewalk, they all looked around for any sign of Ryan. But he was nowhere in sight. Disappointed that they'd let him walk away, they all moved back inside.

"Open it, open it," Chip said excitedly.

"Alright, give me a second," Nick said, starting to open the letter.

Then he paused.

"Actually," he said, turning to Chip. "Why don't you read it? After all, this whole thing was your idea."

"Really?" Chip said, taking the letter.

"Go on, Chip," Vida smiled. "Read it."

Nodding, Chip quickly finished opening the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. Taking a deep breath, he started to read it out loud.

_Mystic Force Rangers,_

_Your persistence in continuously sending letters has finally demanded my immediate attention. Despite what you may believe, I have not been idle in my observation of your team. I am aware of what you have accomplished in your short time as rangers. But, despite your familiarity, it was not your move to contact us. It has always been our right to approach new teams when we were ready, but now you have forced my hand._

_Therefore, in the interest of preserving our identities and resolving all issues, I have decided that it is time you finally meet us as we truly are face-to-face as a team—no more secrets. I will not, however, reveal the details of the meeting here. There is always a chance this letter could fall into the wrong hands and I will not compromise my teammates in such a way. To that end, if you still wish to meet with us, be at Rootcore in one hour. If you are not there I will take it as a rejection of my offer to meet. This is your only chance—I will not offer a second one._

_Do not take this meeting lightly. I will be waiting for your answer._

_May the Power protect you all,_

_Mighty Morphin' Red_

Chip finished reading and looked up at his teammates, not entirely sure what to think of the letter. It said they were going to get to meet him, but didn't really answer any of their questions. For a moment no one said anything.

"Guys?" Xander said, glancing at the clock. "He said one hour. We close in three…"

All of them whipped around to look at the clock.

"So what do we do?" Vida asked, looking around. "No one else is here…"

"Relax," Nick said. "Just close up shop. We probably won't have anymore customers tonight anyways and if we do we'll deal with Toby tomorrow. So lock up fast and let's get out of here."

Nodding, the five split up to lock the shop and get to Rootcore before they missed the deadline.

* * *

Soon as Ryan left the shop, he made a beeline for his car. As slow as the new team appeared to be at moment, he knew it wouldn't take them long to figure out he had to be involved in the rangers somehow once they got a good look at that letter—and he didn't want to be here when they did. Jason had been adamant that Ryan speak to them as little as possible. Speeding off down the road, Ryan pulled out his cell.

**Andros? The package has been delivered. Start the countdown. **


	46. Chapter 46

Bursting into Rootcore at a full run, the young rangers skidded to a stop and looked around wildly as they tried to catch their breath. But there was no one to be seen and nothing had changed that they could see.

"I don't see anyone," Vida gasped, still looking around. "What time is it?"

Nick glanced at his watch.

"We still have half an hour," he panted.

The others nodded, moving toward the center of the room where the table and the crystal globe were.

"So where are they, then?" Xander said, wincing as he took a deep breath and putting hand on his side.

"No idea," Madison said breathlessly. "Could they be waiting outside? I mean, they can't get in here without us—can they?"

They all stopped to think about that for a moment.

"You know, I don't know…" Nick said slowly. "But I didn't see anyone outside…"

"We should really ask Udonna about that," Chip commented. "But I hope we didn't miss them…"

"Did the letter say how they were coming?" Vida asked, looking a Chip.

He shook his head as he pulled it back out.

"Nothing," he said. "It just says we had to be here in an hour or we lose our chance."

Nick took a deep breath.

"Well, then all we can do is wait," he said. "We still have twenty-five minutes until it's been an hour. Maybe they're waiting until then. So, in the meantime, we'll wait here to find out."

Reluctantly his teammates nodded. All five of them started drifting around the room, trying to find ways to entertain themselves. Eventually Nick and Xander settled down at the table to play cards. Madison, too nervous to just watch them, grabbed her computer and started editing some of her videos. Chip and Vida, however, couldn't sit still so they continued moving around Rootcore, bouncing from place to place as they tried to contain their nervous energy.

"Where is he?" Vida grumbled a little while later, dropping into a chair at the table. "It's been almost an hour."

"Not here," Nick said irritably. "And I don't think they're coming. I really don't think they can even get in here without our help."

"They have to come," Chip countered. "They said they'd meet us here in an hour."

"No, they said to be here in an hour," Xander corrected, leaning back in his chair. "It never actually said anyone would be here."

"I'm sure they'll be here—" Chip started to protest.

"Hey, guys!" someone said from behind them.

All five of them jumped in surprise and Vida and Chip spun around to look. Xander lost his balance in his chair and tipped it backward, crashing to the ground. Nick leap out of his chair and whipped around to see who had come in. Madison followed suit, nearly knocked over her computer as she jerked to her feet. But it was only Clare, now looking at them in surprise.

"Oh, it's just you, Clare," Vida sighed in relief.

"Is everything alright?" Clare said, looking at them in concern as Xander scrambled to his feet.

"We're fine," Madison quickly reassured her. "We just thought you were—well, someone else…"

"Who?" Clare asked suspiciously.

"Doesn't matter," Nick said, trying to brush it off.

Clare put her hands on her hips.

"Did you think I was Udonna?" she asked. "What did you five break?"

"We didn't break anything," Xander protested. "You just surprised us, that's all."

"Hmm…" she said doubtfully, frowning. "Well, if you say so. I just came to get a few potions."

No one else said anything as she hurried across Rootcore to the potion cupboard. The young rangers just looked around nervously, hoping no one would show up while Clare was still there. They weren't sure how she'd react to strangers just randomly walking in. Finally she left and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Nick looked at his watch again.

"Well, it's been an hour," he announced. "And still no one. He's not coming."

"He has to," Chip insisted. "He said to be here, so he has to show up."

Xander scoffed, crossing his arms.

"It probably wasn't even him who sent the letter," he said. "Someone's just pranking us with that letter."

Chip frowned, shaking his head.

"It can't be prank," he said. "They knew about Rootcore."

"And?" Xander said. "We may not be completely outed, but there are quite a few people in town who know who we are now. Maybe one of them heard about the letters and thought it would be funny to mess with our heads."

"Xander has a point," Nick agreed. "No one is here. This has to be some kind of trick."

"Maybe he's just running late," Vida said, glancing at Chip who didn't look happy. "That doesn't mean he's not really coming. We should give it a few minutes."

Nick shook his head.

"Face it, V," he said. "We're never going to get anywhere with this. They don't want anything to do with us."

She scowled at him, hands on her hips.

"You don't know that," she said defensively. "He gave us the letter after all. You're just uptight because no one immediately came running to meet us."

Nick scowled back.

"Guys, come on," Madison said, inserting herself between Nick and Vida. "There's no need to fight over this. We're already here, so let's wait a while to see what happens."

"Besides, it had to be him," Chip inserted. "It was his seal. He always wore that symbol as a ranger. I would recognize it anywhere."

"And so could hundreds of other people," Xander pointed out. "It's not like it was a secret symbol. He wore it in public. Anyone who's seen stories on the original rangers could have easily copied it and created that letter. I still say it's just a prank."

"I would know if it was a fake," Chip argued. "It is definitely his seal."

"Chip, we're not saying it's not the right seal," Nick said. "Just that maybe he wasn't the one who used it. Think about it. How could he have found our base? None of us have ever met him or told him anything about ourselves—at least not that kind of information. It's just not logical."

"He said he'd been watching us," Vida countered. "And since we had no idea who he was, he could have been around a lot and we'd never have noticed him in the crowds."

"Guys, please," Madison pleaded. "Don't argue."

The sound of someone clearing their throat made them all jump.

"Not exactly the most harmonious team, are you?" someone said behind them.

Not recognizing the voice, all of the rangers spun, looking for the speaker. But there was no one in sight.

"Where are you?" Nick demanded, on the defensive.

"I'm here," the unseen man calmly replied.

The rangers grouped tighter together as they looked around, still not seeing anyone.

"Then why can't we see you?" Nick snapped, clearly on edge now.

The man sighed.

"I'm on the computer," he said patiently.

Spinning to look at Madison's computer, which was sitting open on the table, the rangers stared in surprise. There was indeed a man watching them from her computer screen.

"Greetings," he said, nodding his head.

"Sis, there's a man on your computer," Vida said, glancing to her sister.

Madison nodded mutely, not entirely sure how to respond. But Chip was pointing excitedly as he stammered, momently incoherent.

"That's Andros!" he finally managed to get out.

His teammates all frowned, looking between Chip and the man on the computer.

"Who?" Nick asked.

He hadn't relaxed yet, ready to react in case someone appeared in Rootcore itself.

"The red Space Ranger!" Chip exclaimed excitedly.

Vida, Madison, and Xander took a closer look at the screen, their eyes widening in recognition as they realized Chip was right.

"Red Space Ranger?" Nick repeated, frowning. "But I don't recognize him from the articles you've shown me. He wasn't in the pictures."

"He wasn't there," Chip said, still grinning. "At least he wasn't with the others when they all revealed themselves in front of everyone."

"He came later," Xander agreed. "He was the one who carried the evil space witch off the ship."

On the screen, Andros stiffened and frowned.

"Don't call her that," another man said, appearing on screen next to Andros.

He was dressed in silver, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. The younger rangers looked at him in surprise.

"What?" Xander said uncertainly.

"Don't call her that," the man repeated in a growl. "She's not a witch."

The Mystic Force rangers exchanged confused looks, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Karone is my sister," Andros said. "Yes, she was evil for a time but that was only because she had been brainwashed. I will let it go this time because you did not know, but I will not let it go again."

"Sorry…" the young rangers chorused, all of them slightly embarrassed by their mistake.

"It better not happen again," the other man muttered.

Glaring at them one more time, he spun and stalked away and quickly disappeared from camera view. Andros didn't watch him go, taking a deep breath as he regarded the Mystic Force team.

"Who was that?" Vida asked, glancing between Chip and Andros as she waited for an answer.

Chip shrugged.

"No idea," he said.

"That was Zhane," Andros said after a moment. "My long time partner, our silver ranger—and he is just as protective of my sister as I am. So I would refrain from unnecessary comments."

They nodded and Andros took another deep breath.

"Now," he said briskly. "On to the purpose of this call."

"Great idea," Nick said. "Because I would love to know why you're talking to us when your letter clearly stated you couldn't have anything to do with us until we went through the original red ranger—and I'm pretty sure you're not him."

Andros raised an eyebrow.

"No, I am not," he said. "But I am speaking with you under his orders."

"Fair enough," Nick consented. "But why doesn't he just talk to us himself."

Andros hesitated before answering.

"The situation is complicated," he said slowly. "Part of it is that the original rangers are extremely protective of their identities. He did not want to risk his identity being compromised should someone else happen to intercept the message. There are also several other factors involved which I will not explain here."

"Why?" Xander asked suspiciously.

"Because they are not mine to explain," Andros answered shortly. "Now, I am here for a purpose. The five of you wish to meet with him, so I am here to arrange the meeting."

"Really?" Chip said excitedly.

Andros nodded.

"Yes," he said. "And before I go any further, let me remind you all that you get one chance. You have pushed the boundaries of proper procedure with your letters and tested the patience of many rangers. Do not take this lightly."

The young rangers frowned, exchanging looks. But Andros didn't give them a chance to argue.

"Now," he said. "If you still wish to meet the original rangers, the meeting will take place this Saturday afternoon."

"That quickly?" Madison said in surprise. "That's only two days away."

Andros nodded.

"He sees no reason to delay any longer. Is that a problem?"

"No," Chip said quickly. "Not a problem. Saturday afternoon is fine. What time?"

"Two o'clock," Andros answered.

"I think we can manage that," Nick said, nodding. "Where at?"

"The museum on the outskirts of Reefside," said Andros.

Nick stiffened, his eyes narrowing.

"Not a chance," he scowled, crossing his arms. "The Dino Thunder rangers threatened us!"

Andros sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Yes," he said. "We are aware of that and the issue has been—dealt with—as best we are able to for the moment. They will not threaten you again, or attack you, without legitimate provocation."

"Still not happening," Nick said adamantly, shaking his head. "They'll just have to meet us somewhere else."

Andros raised an eyebrow, settling back in his chair.

"And if I tell you they won't?" he asked. "I was not lying when I told you this is your one chance. If you choose not to go to the museum then there will not be a meeting."

Nick continued to stand with his arms crossed, but the rest of the team exchanged looks.

"Come on, Nick," Chip pleaded. "This is our shot. We've gotta go."

"Chip is right," Vida agreed. "And if Andros says Dino Thunder will leave us alone, then I say we go for it."

Nick hesitated, clearly not happy about the current situation. Andros waited patiently for an answer.

"They threatened us, V," Xander pointed out. "And I don't think they'd be happy to find out we're on their turf."

Vida shot a glare at him, but Xander stood firm with Nick.

"Nick, please," Madison said softly, putting a hand on his arm. "This means a lot to all of us. Let's go. And, if something happens, we'll get out of there as fast as we can. It can't hurt to try."

Taking a deep breath, Nick finally relented.

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "We'll go. But nothing had better happen."

"The young rangers will not be told you are in the area," Andros informed him. "And, if they somehow find out, you need not worry about them crossing him to that extreme. He's irritated enough about their letter—they won't push the boundaries too far."

Nick nodded. He still didn't look happy, and neither did Xander, but the other three were smiling a little again.

"Now before I go," Andros continued. "I want to impress on the five of you again how seriously you need to take this. For any rangers who have not already been exposed to allow you to know their identities is a great leap of faith. You must prove to them you are worthy of that trust before you will be allowed to meet or know of anyone else."

"We will," Chip said eagerly.

Andros smiled faintly at the yellow ranger.

"Being a power ranger is a great responsibility," he said. "The position you have been given is not to be taken lightly. The protection of our cities and the worlds is a serious duty that asks a lot of any of us."

Behind Andros, the Mystic Force rangers saw two other people enter the room Andros was sitting in. One was a woman dressed in pink while the other was a man dressed in blue. They were talking about something, but stopped when they saw Andros at the computer. He didn't appear to have noticed they had entered the room.

"The original rangers have taken on that responsibility to an extent none of the rest of us have," Andros continued. "And each of them has demonstrated time and again that they are willing to do the same once more should the need arise. You would do well to follow their example."

The man behind Andros was grinning now and elbowing the woman, who was shaking her head but laughing at the same time. As they watched, he started making funny faces toward Andros' back and the camera. The young rangers tried to keep straight faces and not laugh as Andros continued speaking without acknowledging what was going on behind him.

"I am not saying you have not accomplished a great feat as rangers in your own right," Andros clarified. "However, you are the latest edition to the ranger legacy and it is your responsibility to uphold the legacy previous teams have left. There is always someone watching—whether they know about you or not—and it is imperative that you always act appropriately."

Nick frowned and started to ask a question, but Andros held up a hand. Behind him, the man had started trying to give Andros bunny ears and the woman was giggling harder. Spinning quickly around, Andros glared at the pair.

"TJ, knock it off!" he snapped. "I'm in the middle of a meeting."

The man froze momentarily, caught in the act. Then he relaxed, frowning.

"Meeting?" he said. "What meeting?"

Andros raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. TJ moved closer, leaning in to the computer to take a look. Seeing the Mystic Force rangers looking back at him, his eyes widened and he scrambled backward a few steps.

"This is live?" he asked, looking at Andros in surprise. "I thought you were just going to record your message!"

Andros rolled his eyes.

"Of course it's live," he said. "How else was I supposed to make sure it worked?"

TJ groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Just great," he muttered. "Falcon is never going to let me live this down…"

"Mmm hmm," Andros agreed. "And just wait until Rex hears about this—he's not going to be happy."

TJ paled.

"Aww, you wouldn't," TJ sputtered. "Come on, man. Rex is gonna kill me!"

Andros just smirked in response. Whipping his head around, TJ started backing away. The woman had already bolted from the room.

"What was that?" TJ called behind him. "Coming, Ashley! I'm out of here…"

He disappeared from the screen. Taking a deep breath, Andros turned back to face the young rangers. They were all looking at him in surprise.

"I apologize," he said.

"Who was that?" Xander asked.

"TJ," he sighed. "My blue…And the woman was my pink, Cassie…"

"Well, they seem—nice," Vida said, still trying not to snicker.

Andros took another deep breath.

"Yes, well," he said, trying to collect himself. "As I was saying, being a ranger is a serious commitment. Yes, we still have fun with each other—as you just saw—but it's part of your responsibility to know when the behavior is appropriate in any given situation. Not everything is what you think it is."

"What do you mean by that?" Madison asked, frowning.

But Andros shook his head.

"It doesn't matter right now," he said. "The point is, you don't know the whole story and some of the things you think you know are wrong."

The young rangers exchanged confused looks, still not sure what the red ranger was talking about.

"Now," Andros said briskly, getting back to business. "Saturday at 2pm at the museum outside of Reefside. Remember, only your team is welcome at this meeting. If anyone else is present you will never see them. Understood?"

"Understood," Nick said, nodding.

"Then I will say farewell for now," Andros said. "Good luck to you and may the Power protect you."

And then he was gone and they were left looking at a blank computer screen. For a few moments, none of them spoke. Then everyone started talking at once.

"Alright!" Nick exclaimed after a moment. "Guys, calm down."

His teammates quieted down, turning to look at their leader.

"We need to talk to my parents," he said once he had their attention. "We're going to go through with this one way or another, but they need to know what's going on."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Leanbow is probably training with Daggeron," Xander said.

"And Udonna should be out with Clare," Chip added.

"So let's call them for a meeting," Vida suggested. "The sooner, the better."

The rest nodded in agreement.

"And just think," Madison said before they scattered, smiling. "We're going to be meeting the original rangers."


	47. Chapter 47

"So they're really coming, then?" Kat asked, looking at Jason. "Are you sure?"

He sighed, nodding.

"Yes, Kat," he said. "I wouldn't have brought everyone here if I didn't think they were really coming."

She shot a look back at him, but didn't say anything else as she settled back into her chair. All of the original rangers, except Tommy, were gathered at Jason and Trini's house. The Scotts' two young children were noticeably absent, as were the children of the other rangers. They had ranger business to attend to and didn't need the kids around to make things ten times harder to keep under wraps.

"Now," Jason said, looking around the room. "I know they're coming, but I still don't know what they're going to do once they're presented with the truth. It's different this time…"

Trini smiled gently.

"We'll all get through this," she said reassuringly. "I'm not saying it won't be difficult, but things are bound to turn out alright."

He eyed her doubtfully, but didn't argue.

"So what's the plan?" Adam asked.

Everyone was looking at Jason now.

"Well," he said, glancing at his watch. "We're still waiting on one, so let's wait a few more minutes. I don't want to have to cover everything twice."

The other rangers all exchanged confused looks, even Trini didn't seem to know what Jason was talking about.

"Jason, we're all here," Kim said slowly. "Except Tommy. And I'm pretty sure he shouldn't be there… At least not until we get to explain…"

"Kim's right," Kat agreed. "I know Tommy's forgiven them, but he would just be making himself a target by showing up with us… Not to mention that may send them running…"

Jason shook his head.

"Tommy has no idea we're doing this," he said. "And Hayley is not about to tell him."

"He can't be part of this even if Hayley tells him," Trini pointed out. "She had the babies three weeks early and he couldn't get a flight back. He's still overseas for another week. And there's no way he'd go out of his way to get home for this if he couldn't have already done so to see the birth of his daughters."

Nods of agreement went around the room.

"Trini has a point," Tanya agreed.

Jason sighed, running a hand over his head.

"Well, actually," he started to say.

He was interrupted by the front door opening. All of the rangers immediately turned to look, curious as to who else was joining them.

"We're in the living room," Jason called, not moving from his seat.

Footsteps came down the hall, but it wasn't Tommy who walked in. It was another man, dressed in blue, who was very familiar to all of them.

"Billy!" Kim squealed, launching herself out of her chair to hug him.

The rest of the rangers weren't far behind, crowding Billy as everyone tried to hug him. The volume in the room nearly tripled as everyone tried to talk to him at once. Billy just laughed, hugging his friends back and answering what questions he could. For a while, Jason didn't interrupt, watching from his chair as he waited for his turn to greet their long absent friend. After a while he stood up.

"Alright, guys," he said, shaking his head. "Let him breathe. Billy will be here for a while so you'll all get a chance to catch up. Right now we have some more serious business to attend to."

The rangers sobered up as Jason brought their attention back to the problem at hand. Gathering back in their seats, they made room for Billy to join them.

"So now will you tell us what the plan is?" Aisha asked, looking at Jason.

"And why Billy needed to come all the way from Aquitar for it?" Rocky added. "No offense. It's not that I'm not glad to see you, man, but that's a long way to come for one meeting."

Billy smiled, not offended in the slightest.

"No offense taken," he said. "I am here because Jason asked me to come."

Heads turned back to look at Jason who just shrugged.

"We need him," he said as explanation, which just earned him confused looks and frowns.

"What Jason means," Billy said, continuing the explanation. "Is that he felt my ability to remain unbiased in most situations would give us the opportunity to address several pressing issues, such as the Code and magical boundaries, with the young rangers prior to the full disclosure of our identities. Jason did not want to risk any of us being at fault in the beginning of a conflict with said team."

Quick glances were exchanged around the room as all of the rangers mentally went over what Billy had just said.

"He means Jason thinks most of us would lose our tempers with Mystic Force," Trini clarified. "Which wouldn't give us a chance to establish the ground rules for the meeting and could start a fight without us wanting to."

Grateful nods went around the room as Trini's simple explanation got everyone back on the same page.

"Hey! Wait a minute," Zach protested, frowning. "I can keep my temper just fine, thank you very much. I already did once."

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Zach," he sighed. "You did. But there is a chance they might put two and two together too quickly if you go. We need them to swear to the Code before they see all of us, not after. Billy is our best shot at that happening. People tend not to get mad at him as easily."

Zach started to argue, but couldn't think of a good argument so he let it drop.

"Now, if there are no more interruptions," Jason said, looking around. "Then this is how it's going to work."

When no one said anything, he continued.

"To avoid being seen, we're parking at Tommy's house," he said. "No one is going to be home when we get there, because Hayley has to take the babies for an appointment, but she said it was fine if we parked out back and used the lab to access the tunnels. Most of us will walk from there to just outside the museum and wait in the trees. While we're doing that, Billy will drive to the museum—alone—and meet with Mystic Force."

The rangers were nodding, though most of them looked a little hesitant at the mention of Billy going alone.

"The plan is to time his arrival fairly close to ours," Jason continued. "So that he won't actually be alone for more than a few moments just in case something happens. Once he has established the ground rules for the meeting, the rest of us will join him. If the team refuses any of our terms—for any reason—we leave without them ever having seen us. Simple as that."

"And what happens if they do try something against Billy?" Tanya asked worriedly. "He'll be standing against them alone and if we leave…"

She trailed off, glancing at Billy.

"Andros is on standby to pull any and all of us out if necessary," Jason reassured her. "I've covered all bases on this. Including making sure Tommy's kids are as distracted as they can be. They have no idea we are going to be anywhere near Reefside, let alone the Mystic Force team."

Tanya and the rest of the group nodded. It still wasn't ideal, but that made them feel a little better about Billy going in alone. Billy just sat quietly, having already gone over everything with Jason before he had arrived.

"Alright," Jason said, taking a deep breath. "If we're all on the same page, let's head out. Remember when we get there that everyone follows my lead. I don't want to get off track because all of us are trying to throw in opinions."

As the rangers murmured agreements, they all stood to head for the door, grabbing shoes along the way as they discussed who was riding with who. Ouside, however, they all paused in surprise to see another familiar face. But this time Jason was surprised, too.

"About time you came out. You're gonna be late if you don't get moving."

"What are you doing here, kid?" Jason demanded, glaring.

Justin, sitting on the hood of Billy's car, just grinned and hopped down.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" he asked. "I'm going with you."

Jason snorted, shaking his head.

"Not a chance," he growled.

"Oh no?" Justin said, crossing his arms. "Then what else am I doing here?"

"Leaving," Jason said, stalking over to him.

Grabbing Justin by the arm, he started hauling him away so Billy could get in his car and leave.

"Hey, not cool!" Justin complained, pulling his arm free. "You know, you really should be a lot nicer to me."

"And why is that?" Jason asked, crossing his arms. "You're trying to insert yourself in business that isn't yours."

"It is too my business," Justin countered. "Tommy was my red and they were my team."

He gestured to the rest of the Turbo rangers, all of whom were standing off to the side with the rest of the originals as they waited for Jason.

"You're still not coming," Jason said shortly. "I don't need any wild cards today and Tommy isn't here to babysit you."

Justin frowned.

"I don't need a babysitter," he said.

Behind them, Billy climbed back out of his car, frowning as he started to lift the hood.

"Oh, right," Justin said, grinning again as he glanced over his shoulder at Billy. "He won't be getting too far without his distributor cap."

Hearing Justin, Billy let the hood fall again. There was no point in looking for a further reason as to why his car wouldn't start.

"Justin!" Jason snapped.

"What?" Justin said, shrugging. "I knew you'd throw a fit about me coming, so I took out some insurance. Now I'm driving cause I know the rest of you won't want to be seen. Besides, Billy really shouldn't go alone—none of us should."

Jason took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You really are a pain, kid," he muttered. "How did you even find out about this?"

Justin smirked.

"I was on the ship when you were talking to Andros," he said. "I may have overheard the details—not that he knows that."

Jason growled, glaring at Justin.

"Jason, we need to get going," Trini reminded him. "We're going to be cutting it close as is. Just let him come."

Groaning, Jason didn't say anything for a moment.

"Fine," he finally relented. "You can come—but only if you agree to listen to me."

Justin rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Alright," he muttered. "But you're not nearly as fun as Tommy."

"This isn't a field trip," Jason snapped. "So be serious or stay here. I want you to let Billy do the talking when you get there. And I swear if you let one word of this slip to anyone else I will be using you as a practice dummy in my dojo for the next month. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," Justin sighed. "Billy talks, I stay quiet, and you're the boss. Now can we go? We're going to be late."

"Fine, go," Jason snapped. "Just please tell me you actually have a decent car here. I don't want to hear that you've been stranded somewhere in the middle of nowhere."

"Relax, Jason," Justin grinned, taking off down the sidewalk with Billy in tow. "I've got my best car today."

Jason rolled his eyes as the rest of the rangers split up to cars, too.

"I've seen your cars, kid," Jason said. "Doesn't make me feel better."

"Tommy helped me fix up this one," Justin called back. "See you there."

Still shaking his head and muttering to himself, Jason headed to climb in his own car.

"Still doesn't make me feel better about him coming," he grumbled. "Especially if he's got the car I think he does…"

But with time running short, he shut the door and started the car. Taking off, Jason led the way toward Reefside and the meeting with Mystic Force.

* * *

Climbing out of, or off of, their vehicles, the Mystic Force rangers looked around at their surroundings. The museum they were parked at was closed, a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex replica on display outside. There was no sign of anyone else in the area.

"This is different than what I thought," Vida commented as they grouped together.

"It is," Madison nodded in agreement. "We were never really out here much—but there are a lot of woods around here."

"And I don't see anyone else," Chip added.

Nick nodded.

"Good," he said. "We're early. Gives us a chance to check things out and look around—make sure there's nothing going on that can take us by surprise."

Several of his teammates rolled their eyes.

"Nick, I'm sure everything is going to be fine," Xander said. "You're just being paranoid."

Nick started to respond, but Leanbow beat him to it.

"No, it's good to have a chance to look around," Leanbow said. "It never hurts to be prepared for any situation. Especially in territory you are unfamiliar with. We have no advantage here if we don't take the opportunity to create one."

The younger rangers all nodded in agreement with their teacher. Chip, who had been buzzing around anxiously all day, was now bouncing nervously in place.

"So when do you think they'll get here?" he asked, looking around for any sign of someone arriving. "Do you think they'll like us? Maybe they won't like us… How will we even know it's really them? Oh! Do you think the white ranger is coming, too?"

"Chip, relax," Nick said. "Breathe. They're just other rangers."

"But these are the original rangers," Chip said. "We grew up watching them save the city. I really hope the white ranger is there."

Vida rolled her eyes.

"Chip, it's probably just going to be the red ranger," she said. "The video said he would meet us here, not all of them. We'll probably have to wait before we can meet anyone else."

"Yeah, I know…" he sighed. "I just think it would be cool to meet all of them…"

"It would be nice," Madison agreed. "We all have our favorites. Vida's always loved the red ranger."

Vida shot a look at her sister, her face turning a little red in embarrassment.

"What?" she said when the boys all looked at her in surprise. "He saved us—and he's never been afraid to go get the bad guys…I always wanted to be like him growing up."

"Well, you certainly aren't afraid to go after the bad guys," Xander grinned. "My personal favorite was always the pink ranger. She looked cute in that skirt."

The girls rolled their eyes as Chip and Nick snorted. Their mentors shook their heads in amusement.

"What?" Xander said.

"You would pick one of the girls," Vida commented. "But did you have to pick pink?"

Xander just shrugged sheepishly.

"I always loved the yellow ranger," Madison said, smiling. "Watching them on the news and in person—she was always so sensible in everything she did."

Chip was grinning now, too.

"Thanks, Maddy," he said.

She smiled at him, but shook her head.

"Sorry, Chip," she said. "But you aren't usually that sensible. It's just not you."

"Yeah, I know," he said, not bothering to protest. "But you still picked my color. I like the white ranger best anyways. He's so cool. I mean, look at the sword he had. And the zords. First he had the tiger zord and then the falcon. Awesome."

Nick was shaking his head. He hadn't added anything to the discussion, so his teammates started prodding.

"So who's your favorite, Nick?" Chip asked.

He shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, trying to brush it off. "I really don't know anything about them—didn't follow them much growing up. I've never even been to Angel Grove."

"But you've gotta have a favorite," Xander said. "You know a little about them. So which one?"

Nick hesitated for a moment. But with all of his teammates looking at him expectantly, he relented.

"The blue ranger," he finally said, glancing at Madison.

Vida snorted, rolling her eyes as her twin blushed.

"We know which ranger you like now," she said. "We want to know which of the originals is your favorite."

"I said blue," Nick said shortly.

Vida opened her mouth to argue again, but didn't get the chance.

"I admire the black ranger the most," Leanbow interrupted.

All five of the younger rangers turned to look at him in surprise.

"Dad?" Nick said, a little shocked to hear his father join the conversation.

"Umm… How do you have a favorite?" Chip asked. "No offense—but weren't you evil and locked in the pit well before they came around?"

Leanbow shrugged.

"I caught up," he said. "Did you really think I wouldn't do my own research on the rangers who have defended Earth since my absence? Knowledge is strength in itself."

"And you shouldn't be picking favorites until you've met them," Udonna added, scolding the young rangers gently. "What you see from a distance may not be what you expect up close."

They sighed, nodding in agreement. Daggeron, who had been quietly looking around, stepped up.

"Perhaps we should actually take a look around while we wait," he said. "Just to be sure we will not be interrupted during our meeting."

With everyone in agreement, the rangers split up to survey the immediate area of the museum. They stayed mostly within eyeshot and earshot of each other, just in case there was a trap waiting. Chip, Xander, and Vida headed to the far side of the museum to check out the other side of the building. Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron went to wander the edge of the woods, looking for anyone hiding just inside the tree line. Madison and Nick moved closer to the museum to examine the building itself.

"Maddy, are you alright?" Nick asked a few minutes later. "Maddy?"

They were standing outside the building by themselves. Madison was apparently lost in thought, staring up at the giant tyrannosaurus rex that towered above them.

"Maddy," Nick repeated, touching her arm.

She jumped, spinning to look at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, sorry," she said, quickly glancing around. "What were you saying?"

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"You were staring," he said. "And you've been acting a little off all morning. Are you sure you're fine?"

"I'm sure," she reassured him, her gaze slowly going back to the dinosaur.

"Maddy, if you're nervous about this," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "we can always back out. You don't have to be here if you don't want to."

"No, it's not that," she said. "I'm excited about meeting them. Really, I am. It's just—well, it's not important right now. I promise I'm fine."

He frowned, but before he could say anything else Vida came bouncing over with Chip and Xander not far behind.

"Nothing on the other side of the museum," Vida announced. "Except more trees. There are a lot of trees here…"

Seeing Madison staring up at the dinosaur again, Vida followed her gaze.

"Is that a dent in its head?" she asked.

"Yep," Chip said, looking up at it, too.

"What?" Madison said, turning to look at her sister and then back up at the dinosaur. "Oh. Yeah. I guess I hadn't noticed."

Vida frowned as she exchanged looks with the others.

"Then why are you staring at it like it's about to eat you?" Xander asked.

Madison shook herself again, turning to glance at her sister.

"No reason," she said. "It just brought some things to mind…"

Frowning again, Vida glanced back and forth between her sister and the giant dinosaur. Her eyes widened as she realized what Madison must be thinking. Vida glanced around quickly, taking in their surroundings.

"How close do you think?" she asked Madison.

All three of the boys were frowning now, not sure how to take the twins' odd behavior.

"I don't know," Madison shrugged. "Like fifteen minutes? I'm not sure. We didn't come in from this side the one time we were there…"

"Still…" Vida said slowly.

"V, it's on the other side of town," Madison said. "We're fine. We have to be."

"Ok, what's going on?" Nick interrupted, looking between them. "What has the two of you so freaked out?"

Madison and Vida exchanged looks. Sighing, Madison turned back to Nick.

"Tommy lives in Reefside," she admitted.

"What?" Nick exclaimed, tensing as he started looking around. "He lives here and you didn't tell me? Why?"

"We didn't really think about it," Vida said. "At least not right away… We only visited him here once. He's got a house in the woods somewhere on the other side of town. Usually he visited us in Angel Grove."

Nick shook his head, clearly agitated now.

"So you're telling me that, not only are we in the territory of a ranger team that has blatantly threatened us," he snapped, "but we're also in range of an evil ranger who has already attacked us once without provocation? I knew we shouldn't have agreed to this. We would have been better off just keeping to ourselves. For all we know they could be working together!"

"Nick, please," Madison said, putting a hand on his arm. "We didn't want to mess this up. There's no reason Tommy should even know we're here. He lives on the other side of town and we have plenty of escape routes."

"Maddy is right, Nick," Xander agreed. "Besides, even if he did show up—or Dino Thunder—we can just disappear into the woods. We have lots of experience disappearing there. They've got no chance of catching us if we make it to the trees. We'll be fine."

Nick took a deep breath. With the rest of the team looking hopefully at him, he finally relented. He wasn't happy, but he stopped arguing.

"Alright," he said. "Just be watching. I don't want anyone to take us by surprise."

The sound of an approaching car caught all of their attention, drawing their minds from the conversation and to other things.

"That's gotta be them!" Chip exclaimed, darting to join Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron. "Come on, guys!"

The five young rangers ran to join their teachers as a blue jeep came into sight in the driveway. Nick, taking the lead, turned to talk to his team as they waited for the car.

"Alright guys," he said. "Now play it cool. Don't let your excitement overcome your judgment. Remember, we know nothing about him or his team outside of what they've done as rangers. We have to be careful."

As everyone nodded in agreement, Nick took a deep breath. Xander was looking at Chip in amusement.

"Is he vibrating?" he commented with a grin.

All of them turned to look at Chip. He was trying really hard not to bounce in place in excitement, which was making him appear to be physically vibrating.

"Yep," Vida said. "He is."

"Chip, relax," Nick said. "You've got to calm down. Take deep breaths."

Nodding, Chip turned his concentration to breathing in and out. He still wasn't standing completely still, but Nick let it go.

"Good enough," he sighed, turning as the car pulled to a stop.

"So long as he doesn't hyperventilate," Vida muttered, shooting a grin at Chip.

The car turned off and the rangers waited impatiently for something to happen. Nick was standing in front with Chip to his left and Vida to his right. They were both positioned just behind him. Madison was standing slightly behind and to the right of her sister. Leanbow was slightly behind Nick with Udonna beside him. Xander had taken position behind them as guard against anyone coming from behind. Daggeron was standing to Chip's left. Chip, still extremely excited for the meeting, was slowly starting to lean forward.

"Chip!" Vida hissed, seeing him out of the corner of her eye. "Stop it!"

"I'm sorry," he said, catching himself. "I just want to see and the windows are tinted…"

"Guys!" Nick whispered. "Knock it off."

"He's acting like a child," Vida protested.

"And you aren't any better," Nick snapped.

The sound of car doors slamming broke into their argument. They all turned to look. Two men had climbed out of the blue jeep and were now walking toward them. All of the rangers tensed, waiting. But, seeing them approaching and not recognizing either one as Ryan, Chip's shoulders slumped a little.

"It's not them," Vida sighed quietly.

"I guess it's not," Nick said, shaking his head as he glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the team.

But when he looked back, the two men were coming straight at them. Realizing they weren't going to stop, he tensed again.

"Guys," he hissed, drawing his team's attention.

They all refocused their attention on the two men, tensing again as they waited. The two men stopped a few yards away, looking at the group.

"Greetings," the older one said.

Nick eyed them suspiciously.

"Hi," he said shortly, not sure what to make of the pair.

"Wow," the younger of the two snorted. "That's rude. Especially since you're the ones who wanted this meeting."

The first one raised an eyebrow, glancing at him, and the younger one quieted down.

"What meeting?" Nick said, hedging.

"There is no need for the façade," the older of the two said. "We know you are the Mystic Force rangers."

"Then who are you?" Nick asked suspiciously.

The man sighed.

"I am William Cranston," he said. "You may call me Billy. And we are—ambassadors. We are here to represent the original rangers."

Some of the excitement returned to the rangers.

"So you're rangers?" Chip asked excitedly. "But, wait—I thought we were meeting with the original red ranger. Where is he?"

"Chip's right," Xander said from the back of the group. "Why are you here?"

Billy exchanged looks with his younger friend.

"We are here because Justin and I are less likely to cause volatile reactions in a first impression," he said slowly.

"So when do we get to meet the original red?" Vida frowned. "The video said we were to meet with him."

"And you will," Billy said. "However, before that meeting can occur, there are several ground rules that need to be established."

Nick frowned.

"Ground rules?" he repeated.

Billy nodded.

"Affirmative," he said. "In order to ensure the protection of ourselves and our identities, there are several things you must understand before you may meet with anyone else."

"Like what?" Nick asked, still suspicious.

Billy took a deep breath.

"I do not know what you have learned in your training as rangers," he began. "And you may not have heard this before, but I am going to begin by sharing our Code. It is something you must know and accept in order to be counted among the ranks of the rangers."

Mystic Force exchanged looks.

"But we do know the Code," Madison said quietly. "Daggeron taught it to us."

Billy looked at her in surprise and then at Daggeron who nodded in agreement.

"Very well," he said. "But, be that as it may, I am still going to recite it to you in the correct words and form. It is imperative that you understand and accept this."

The rangers stayed silent, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"You will each swear by the Power to the following," Billy said. "You will never use your power for personal gain. You will never escalate a battle. And you will never reveal your identity to anyone. To break the Code is to risk losing the protection of the Power forever."

They exchanged looks, but nodded.

"That's the Code Daggeron taught us," Madison confirmed.

"Which is fine," Billy said. "But I need you each to swear by the Power to follow each of those things."

"But we already have," Xander frowned.

Justin rolled his eyes.

"Let me explain it so you understand," he said slowly, clearly mocking them. "Just knowing the Code isn't enough. You each have to swear by the Power to follow the Code right now. Here. In front of Billy. Or we leave."

The young rangers looked at him in surprise, but Billy nodded in agreement. As the hesitated, Leanbow stepped forward.

"I swear by the Power to never use my power for personal gain," he said. "To never escalate a battle and to never reveal my identity to anyone. This I swear with the understanding that, should I knowingly break the Code, that I risk losing the protection of the Power."

Billy smiled faintly, nodding at Leanbow in gratitude. Leanbow returned the nod, stepping back into his place next to Udonna. There was another brief moment of hesitation and then, one by one, the rest of the rangers followed his lead. When the last of the rangers had spoken, swearing to follow the Code Billy had laid out for them, Billy spoke again.

"I thank you," he said.

"So do we get to meet the red ranger now?" Chip asked eagerly.

"Soon enough," Justin said, smirking. "But you've got a few more things to go through before the others arrive."

"Others?" Chip echoed. "As in more than the red ranger?"

Justin didn't answer, crossing his arms and smirking.

"And what other things?" Nick frowned.

"Simply a few more precautions," Billy said. "Now that you have sworn by the Power to uphold the Code, we need you to understand that this is your only chance to meet with us. That means you cannot walk away from this meeting."

"Why would we walk away?" Vida frowned. "We've wanted this for forever."

"Because not everything is always as it appears," Billy said. "Therefore, you need to understand that, should you walk away from this meeting you will not get a second chance. If you leave before this meeting has ended, you will have set yourselves apart from the rest of the rangers. You will be alone and no ranger team will act as your ally in anything."

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Nick said stiffly. "We're here of our own free will."

"We're not," Justin muttered, quieting down again when Billy shot him a look.

"Yes, you are," Billy agreed, turning back to Nick. "And we will not hold you hostage. If, after the others arrive, you decide you want nothing to do with us then that is your choice. But that choice, once made, cannot be reversed. We will not ally ourselves with rangers who cannot decide which side they fall on. Loyalty is extremely important to all of us. Do you understand?"

Reluctant agreements echoed among the Mystic Force rangers. They were all slightly put out by the implication that they would walk out on a meeting they had worked so hard to set up. Satisfied that they were all on the same page, Billy continued.

"Lastly," he said firmly. "While you are in our presence there is to be no magic of any kind used."

That caught their attention.

"Oh no," Nick immediately protested. "I don't think so. You have no right to tell us we can't use magic."

Billy held up a hand to stop Nick's protests.

"I am not preventing you from defending yourselves," he said, clarifying. "Should the need arise to defend yourselves from a threat we will not stop you from acting in an appropriate manner. However, we are offering no threat by meeting with you today and will not offer one unless you threaten us first—and we will see unnecessary use of magic as a threat. And, should you instigate a fight, you will be starting a war with the rangers. And it will not just be the originals you face. Should you begin a war, you will find you've set yourselves against all of the rangers who have come before you."

They were all looking at him in shock. Nick was still shaking his head.

"I don't like this," he said. "Magic is who we are. We shouldn't have to give it up just because you don't understand it."

"We understand it just fine," Billy said stiffly. "But if you cannot agree to refrain from the use of magic in our presence, then we will leave now and save you the trouble."

"Bowen," Udonna said, putting a hand on her son's shoulder. "Given their history they have reason enough to fear magic."

"Udonna is right," Leanbow agreed. "Allow them this small protection."

Nick took a deep breath, nodding.

"Alright," he reluctantly agreed. "No magic."

"We need to hear a verbal confirmation from all of you," Justin said, looking at them expectantly.

Nick glared at him, but glanced back at his team and nodded. Everyone echoed the agreement: they would not use magic in front of the original rangers. After they were done, everyone fell silent for a few moments.

"So, when do the others get here?" Chip asked, breaking the silence.

"Soon enough," Justin shrugged, grinning.

Nick shot a look at him again.

"Ok, that's it," he said. "Just who are you, kid?"

The smile disappeared from Justin's face and he stiffened. In seconds he went from casual to everything about him projecting danger.

"Only a select few people are allowed to call me kid," he growled, his gaze fixed on Nick. "You are not one of them. I wouldn't do it again, if I were you."

Surprised by Justin's rather volatile reaction, Nick didn't argue. Justin relaxed a little, though he was still clearly agitated.

"Ok, so not the best way to ask," Xander said. "But he's right. Who are you?"

"I'm Justin," Justin said. "Blue Turbo."

Now all of them were looking at him in surprise.

"Wait—how old are you?" Xander asked, frowning.

"Just turned twenty-one," Justin smirked.

He paused as something occurred to him.

"Which reminds me," he said, glancing at Billy with a grin. "TJ promised to take me out next time he's on Earth. Remind me to remind him after we're done here."

Billy raised an eyebrow as Mystic Force exchanged shocked looks.

"I am not entirely certain how well that will go," Billy said slowly.

But Justin just shrugged.

"We'll get free drinks," he said.

"And a mob," Billy muttered, shaking his head.

"There's no way," Chip finally sputtered. "You're not old enough. You would have been like—"

"Twelve," Justin supplied when Chip stumbled on the math. "And I was. Just ask any of the rangers. I was—and am—the youngest ranger ever."

Madison frowned, looking at him.

"How is that even possible?" she asked. "I remember Turbo—you would have had to be a really tall twelve-year-old."

"Not really," Justin said. "That's the great thing about the Power of the Morphing Grid. There was this whole accelerated growth thing whenever I morphed. Best cover ever. No one ever suspected me of being a ranger—though I'm pretty sure a few people thought I was stalking the rangers…"

Billy smiled, shaking his head. The Mystic Force rangers were still dumbfounded by the discovery.

"What were they thinking letting a twelve-year-old become a ranger?" Vida asked, still not completely believing Justin.

Justin snorted.

"They didn't exactly let me," he said. "I kind of stumbled into it on accident—but that's a story for another time."

"I can't believe the rangers would let you join them," Nick said, shaking his head. "Why didn't someone stop you?"

"Because it wasn't their choice," Justin said stiffly. "The Power accepted me, so they had to accept me. It wasn't exactly something that could just be reversed."

"That had to be awkward fighting with people twice your age," Nick commented.

Justin immediately turned to glare at him, clearly offended by the comment for a reason they Mystic Force rangers didn't quite understand.

"You shouldn't make comments before you understand everything," Justin snapped. "And at least I didn't have mommy and daddy holding my hand the whole time."

The other Mystic Force rangers winced as Nick's eyes narrowed. He started to take a step forward toward Justin—he wasn't about to let the insult slide.

"Enough," Billy interrupted, holding up one hand to Nick as he placed the other on Justin's shoulder. "We are not here to compare histories or to imply superiority. We have each completed a great task that no one has the right to degrade. Please do not begin something you do not want to finish. We are here for a purpose and we should remain focused on that."

"Fine," Nick growled, stopping. "Then where is this red ranger of yours?"

"Right behind you," came the answer.

Xander, who was supposed to have been guarding their back, squeaked in surprise and spun. The rest of the team followed suit, all of them instinctively reaching for their wands. Nick, drawing his wand as he leapt forward, pushed Xander behind him in order to place himself between his team and the perceived threat. But they all froze in shock as they registered who they were actually seeing. Madison and Vida and, to an extent, Xander and Chip, recognized some more readily than others, but seeing them all together as a group gave them a fairly good idea of who they all were.

There were nine people standing there, all of them tense as they faced off against the Mystic Force team. Jason led the group and it was to him their gaze initially went before slowly shifting to the rest of the people there. He was tense, standing in a defensive position with one hand behind his back as though reaching for something. Trini was standing just behind him and to his left, her gaze fixed on the group as she stood silently watching them. A little further back a man they now recognized as Zach, though they hadn't realized who he was until they saw him amongst his friends. To Jason's right there was a gap and then a petite woman in pink whom Vida immediately recognized as Kimberly Hart. All three were echoing Jason's stance, one hand behind their back as if reaching for something Mystic Force couldn't see.

The other five were clearly with the first four, though standing slightly apart. Adam, who both girls knew from their brother's dojo, was leading that half of the group—though it did appear as though he was trying to fill two places rather than just one. A little behind and to his left, and to Zach's right, was Aisha, who they were all recognizing from the shop months before. Standing behind her was another woman Vida knew immediately on sight—Tanya Park. On the other side of Adam was Jason's other friend and the third instructor from the dojo, Rocky. Kat Hillard, a woman the twins vaguely recognized from past encounters with Jason's friends, was just behind him. Every one of the five were standing with arms up, odd silver bracelets flashing in the sunlight.

Behind Mystic Force, Billy had reacted in a similar way to Jason and the other three from the first group. Justin, on the other hand, now sported a bracelet on one wrist and was holding a key in the opposite hand. He seemed eager to react, balanced on the balls of his feet as he waited for something to happen.

For a few brief moments, no one spoke.

"Jason?" Vida finally stammered in shock, her eyes wide.

Jason nodded curtly.

"Vida, Madison," Jason said.

His voice was cold, the tone suggesting he really wasn't thrilled to see them despite his acknowledgement of their presence. Madison stepped forward slowly, eying the group surrounding her brother in hesitation. Nick put out his free hand to keep her behind him, the other hand tightly gripping his wand.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" Madison asked.

Her brother turned his head to look at her, not dropping his defensive stance as he answered.

"I was under the impression, from your never-ending letters, that you five wanted to meet with us," he said shortly. "Was I wrong?"

Vida frowned, shaking her head.

"We didn't send you any letters," she said. "And this is supposed to be a ranger meeting. So how did you hear about it and what are you doing here?"

Jason raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.

"Now, come on, sis," he said, using the nickname though there was no affection in his voice. "I know you're smarter than that. Figure it out—the answer is right in front of you."

She glared at him, but he didn't back down. Jason and everyone around him were still standing in defensive positions. Nick hadn't moved to put his wand away, either.

"You can't be saying what I think you are," Nick scoffed, shaking his head.

"Why can't I, rookie?" Jason snapped, his glare falling on Nick.

"Because you were in high school when all this happened," Vida snapped back before Nick could respond. "And we lived with you—there's no way you could have pulled it off living at home."

A slight smirk passed across Jason's face. The dark-skinned man dressed all in black, who they recognized from the Rock Porium some time before, snorted.

"And we didn't think aliens, monsters, or robots from space existed either," Zach smirked. "But they do."

Shooting a look at Zach, Jason turned his attention back to Nick, his gaze falling briefly to the wand the younger red ranger was still holding.

"You going to put that thing away, rookie?" he asked, nodding toward the wand. "Or are you going to break the rules already?"

"This is a trap," Nick growled. "I should never have agreed to come."

Jason rolled his eyes, but didn't relax.

"It's not a trap," he said shortly. "If we really wanted to trap you, we wouldn't have bothered sending Billy and Justin ahead—we would have just come to get you. You would have all been down and out before you knew what hit you."

Behind Mystic Force, Billy and Justin were slowly skirting around to join Jason's group. At the mention of Billy's name, and seeing him in the same place as her brother, Madison's eyes widened.

"Billy?" she repeated, turning to look at him. "No. It can't be."

He smiled slightly, nodding at her as he fell into place to Jason's right.

"It's not possible," she said faintly, staring at him.

Vida frowned.

"Maddy, what's—oh!" Vida's eyes widened, too, as she suddenly realized what her sister was implying.

Nick looked between the two girls who were now standing to either side of him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his grip tightening on his wand.

"Billy—Billy died," Madison stammered, not taking her eyes off of the man she had thought dead for years. "He died when we were ten—this isn't possible."

Billy smiled sadly at her, taking his place just to the right of Jason. Justin had fallen in place to Rocky's right.

"I sincerely apologize for the deception," he said. "But it was necessary given the situation. You see, I no longer reside on earth. At the time, my disappearance would have raised questions of my friends that none of us were prepared to answer…"

He paused, glancing around at the shocked looks on the young rangers' faces.

"My father does know the truth," he assured the girls. "And has since shortly after I went away."

They nodded mutely, still not sure how to respond.

"Last chance, rookie," Jason growled, drawing attention back to Nick. "Either put that thing away or we're out of here—we said no magic for a reason and we mean it. And if we leave you don't get a second chance."

Nick glared back at him, determined not to give in.

"Bowen," Leanbow said firmly. "You gave your word."

As Leanbow spoke, Daggeron stepped forward and placed a hand on the young red ranger's shoulder. Nick grimaced, but he slowly put the wand away. Every move said he wasn't happy about it. Once the wand was out of sight, Jason and his group relaxed a little. Hands came out from behind their backs and the odd bracelets suddenly disappeared as the group to Jason's right dropped their arms. Grumbling, Justin shoved the key he had been holding back into his pocket and his bracelet also disappeared.

"Better," Jason said, crossing his arms now as he regarded Nick.

"How did you do that?" Chip suddenly burst out, looking at Adam.

Dressed in green and black, Adam looked back at Chip in confusion.

"Do what?" he asked, not sure what Chip was talking about.

"The bracelet thing," Chip said excitedly. "With the flicking wrists and making them disappear."

Recognition flitted across Adam's face as he realized what Chip was referring to.

"You mean our morphers?" he said.

"Those are your morphers?" Chip exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

Nick shot a look at the overexcited yellow ranger.

"Chip," he said firmly.

"Right, sorry," Chip said, bringing himself back under control. "Still cool."

Madison was still shaking her head, looking at her older brother.

"I just—I still don't understand," she said. "None of this makes any sense."

Jason sighed.

"Madison, what part of this doesn't make sense?" he asked. "I thought we'd made everything quite clear. You wanted to meet with us, so here we are."

"No," she said, frustrated. "We wanted to meet with the original rangers—not you and your friends pulling some cruel joke to get back at us."

"Maddy," Trini said gently, finally speaking. "We are the original rangers."

"You can't be!" Madison burst out. "You had barely started high school. I don't believe you."

Trini's glance flickered to Jason who took a deep breath.

"You were never supposed to know," he said after a moment. "No one was. It's part of the Code that no one was ever to know who we were—or are. Being a ranger isn't about the glory or the praise—it's about protecting the people you're responsible for. It was about protecting you."

For a brief moment his hard gaze softened as he looked at his sisters, but then the mask was back in place.

"Don't you think we know that?" Nick snapped, glaring at Jason. "We just spent the last year defending the people we care about from dark magic and monsters determined to destroy the city. We're rangers whether you like it or not."

Jason crossed his arms, returning Nick's glare without faltering.

"Yes, you did," he said. "Congratulations—you're rangers. You've spent a year fighting the bad guys. But you know what? We've been doing the same nearly as long as your mentors."

He glanced briefly at Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron as he made that comment, nodding in recognition. The three older rangers had stayed fairly silent for the conversation, allowing their students to figure this out for themselves. But they returned Jason's nod, recognizing his acknowledgement that his problem wasn't with them.

"Did you guys really think you were the youngest rangers ever?" Adam asked.

The young Mystic Force rangers exchanged looks that made it clear they had believed that. Trini sighed.

"You five are not the youngest team to ever be accepted by the Power," she said.

"Nope," Justin added, smirking. "I've got that covered. The youngest ever accepted—and likely to hold that record forever."

"Justin, now is not the time," Kat said, looking at him.

"Yeah, I know," he grumbled. "But the rookie started it…"

Kat raised an eyebrow and Justin sighed, falling silent.

"I still don't believe it," Xander said, shaking his head. "Nick's right. This is a trick or a trap of some kind."

"It's no trick," Jason growled, glaring at the group in general. "We don't need to be here if you don't want us. But if the five of you want to be a part of the ranger legacy, then you need to understand a few things. You don't have to like who's in charge. In fact, you don't even need to like the way things are run or all of the decisions that are made. But you will respect us or you'll find yourselves without friends among the rangers."

"And just who is in charge?" Nick challenged, not taking his eyes off of Jason.

"I am," Jason said firmly. "Whether any of you like it or not. And that is not going to change anytime soon."

Nick scoffed, shaking his head.

"No," Vida said adamantly. "I don't believe you. I won't believe you. You're lying to us."

Jason turned to his sister, starting to lose patience with the group.

"What is it going to take to make the five of you believe us?" he asked. "Because I'm not playing this game all afternoon."

"You're going to have to come up with some undeniable proof," Nick growled. "And good luck with that. I don't know how you got the letters, but there's no way you can pull real proof out of thin air."

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"You want proof?" he said. "Fine. You can have your proof."

Glancing over, he caught Adam's eye and nodded. Adam returned the nod and then Jason did the same with Justin, the younger ranger breaking into a grin as he returned Jason's nod. Turning back to look at Mystic Force, Jason smirked a little.

"It's Morphin' Time," he said.

Mystic Force couldn't do anything but stare in shock as the rangers in front of them moved. Jason, Trini, Billy, Kim, and Zach immediately reached behind themselves, their hands coming forward to show their morphers as they made their calls.

"Mastodon!" said Zach.

"Pterodactyl!" called Kim.

"Triceratops!" exclaimed Billy.

"Saber Tooth Tiger!" cried Trini.

"Tyrannosaurus Rex!" growled Jason.

Aisha, partially bridging the gap, moved alone.

"Ninja Ranger Power Now!" she cried, moving quickly. "Yellow Ranger Power!"

Adam led the next group as they moved in unison, flicking their wrists to call their morphers out.

"Zeo Ranger One—Pink!" Kat exclaimed.

"Zeo Ranger Two—Yellow!" cried Tanya.

"Zeo Ranger Three—Green!" shouted Adam.

"Zeo Ranger Four—Blue!" Rocky called.

Last and alone, Justin grinned as he made his morphing call, pulling out his key and calling the bracelet into sight.

"Shift into Turbo!" he shouted. "Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!"

No one moved as the rangers finished morphing, facing off against the shocked Mystic Force. Nick had demanded proof—now he had it. There was no possible way for them to have faked what just happened. For a moment, no one spoke. Then Jason moved, taking off his helmet and tucking it under his arm. The rest of the rangers followed suit.

"Proof enough for you, rookie?" Jason smirked, looking straight at Nick.

Nick was momentarily speechless, sputtering as he tried to come up with a retort.

"Oh my gosh," Vida said, stunned. "I can't—I can't believe it. You actually are—why didn't you tell us?"

Jason rolled his eyes.

"I already told you, Vida," he said. "I couldn't tell you. The Code is very clear on that and I would never knowingly break it."

"Ok, fine," she said. "But why couldn't you tell us after? After we were rangers, I mean. You could have told us and then we wouldn't have freaked out so much about you keeping our secret."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I could have," he admitted. "But were you really ready to hear it at that point?"

"Yes," Vida said adamantly. "Yes we were."

"No, we weren't," Madison countered.

"Maddy!" Vida exclaimed, looking at her sister.

"What?" Madison said. "We weren't. Think about it, sis. If we had known they were there, what would we have done? Could we have done what we did without running to them for help?"

Vida started to argue, and then stopped.

"Oh," she said slowly. "I didn't think about that."

"Mmm hmm," Madison said, nodding. "If we had known they were there to help us, we would have wanted them to fix all of our problems for us."

Vida sighed. She knew her sister was right.

"That's why we try to never make contact with a team until they have established themselves," Kim said, speaking up. "But we were always ready to step in if you really needed help. Dino Thunder was on standby the entire time."

Xander snorted.

"Dino Thunder hates us," he said. "They threatened us."

"Yeah, they did," Zach laughed. "And it was great. You should see the original letter—the threats were worded a lot more creatively. And then their blue edited those out…"

"Their blue did?" Aisha said, raising an eyebrow. "Or their yellow?"

"Ok, fair point," Zach admitted, grinning sheepishly. "Blue spell checked, yellow edited the content."

"I don't want to hear about those four right now," Jason growled, interrupting. "I've heard enough from them the past several months to last a lifetime."

"Wait a minute," Nick said, finally rejoining the conversation. "You're in contact with them?"

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Of course I'm in contact with them," he growled. "I'm in contact with all of them. It's part of being in charge. Though there are plenty of days I'd rather not talk to any of them."

"Aww… Come on, Jason," Zach grinned. "Your life would be boring without us—especially some of the younger ones. Specifically certain brightly colored speed demons and company."

Jason shot a glare at him, but Zach kept grinning.

"I don't want to deal with any of them right now," he said shortly, shaking his head. "The only ones I want to be dealing with right now are them."

He pointed back at Mystic Force who frowned at his comment.

"Not that I really even want to be doing that…" Jason muttered, dropping his hand and shaking his head.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Nick demanded. "Dealing with us? We aren't a problem to be dealt with and I don't appreciate the implication that we are. We don't have to be here."

"You wanted this meeting," Jason snapped. "Not us. So yes—we're dealing with you."

As the younger rangers struggled for a response to Jason's comment, Udonna took over the silence.

"Chip, are you alright?" she asked gently, looking at the young yellow ranger.

He'd been silent since the other rangers had morphed, frowning as he studied the group.

"What?" he said, glancing at her. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. It's just—well, aren't you missing a lot of rangers?"

Chip directed the question toward the rangers facing them.

"What do you mean?" Tanya asked, frowning.

"Well," he said slowly, taking another quick look around. "You're missing all of your white rangers, most of ninjetti, red Zeo, and—ok, I'm really not sure what to think about Turbo even being here…"

"I'm here cause I want to be," Justin said. "And I'm the last Turbo ranger left."

Mystic Force paled and Justin realized what he'd just said.

"Oh! They're alive," he quickly reassured the shocked rangers. "They're just in the ship right now."

"Ship?" Xander repeated, confused.

"Yep," Justin said. "They moved from Turbo to Space. I didn't go with them because I didn't want to leave my dad alone. So they got Andros—he wasn't one of us before. They found him—ok, I guess he found them…And then he tried to get rid of them but it didn't work and—"

"Justin, save it for later," Jason interrupted.

Justin quickly fell silent and Jason turned back to Mystic Force.

"The point is," he said. "Turbo moved on to new powers and abilities, leaving their Turbo powers behind and making Justin the last one to hold them."

"You can have more than one power?" Chip said in surprise, his eyes wide.

"Yep," Rocky grinned. "Most of us have held at least two. Most of ninjetti moved on to become Zeo."

"Except me," Aisha said. "I went to Africa—Tanya took my place."

Tanya smiled at Aisha, nodding.

"Ok, then who exactly are the ninjetti rangers?" Chip asked.

Adam, Kat, Aisha, Billy, Rocky, and Kim all raised their hands. Chip frowned, looking back and forth between Kim and Kat in confusion.

"But you're both wearing pink," he said slowly. "And there was only one pink…"

"I was only ninjetti for a short time," Kim said. "Then I passed my powers to Kat."

"Oh," he said. "But, even if you held multiple powers, you're still missing a few rangers. I mean, you have no white rangers at all. And Zeo red isn't here. Is that who Ryan is? And why isn't he here?"

Jason frowned.

"Ryan?" he repeated. "Why would Ryan be here?"

"Because he delivered the letter," Xander said, crossing his arms.

Some of the originals were laughing to themselves, though most just looked confused as to why Mystic Force thought Ryan was Zeo red.

"Ryan a red?" Zach snorted. "As if. I would love to hear you tell him that."

"He has to be red," Chip said frowned. "All of you clearly wear your colors and he was wearing red shirt."

The originals all looked to Jason for an answer. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Yes, Ryan was wearing a red shirt," he said. "But that's because he borrowed it from his red. Apparently he had just started laundry when I called him away and he didn't have a clean or dry shirt in his color."

"So then what color is he?" Madison asked.

"Titanium," Trini supplied. "Definitely not a red. Not that he isn't capable of it, but he's—well…"

"Girl, he's just too much a lone wolf to be a red," Aisha said. "Put him in charge long term and he wouldn't know what to do with himself. The concept of team isn't exactly ingrained in him after all those years with—well, away."

She didn't elaborate on her explanation, leaving the Mystic Force group to draw their own conclusions.

"Is titanium even a color?" Vida said, raising an eyebrow.

"Technically, no," Zach grinned. "Neither is silver—or gold. I personally call them the metals."

Jason shot a glare at him, but Zach just smirked.

"Zach, shut up," Jason growled. "Now is not the time."

Zach sighed, but didn't argue.

"Ok, so Ryan isn't your missing red," Chip said. "But you're still missing rangers. Where are they?"

Jason raised an eyebrow, looking at Chip expectantly as he waited for him to figure it out. Chip frowned, glancing around at the rangers.

"Or were the original white and ninjetti white the same person?" he asked.

Several of the rangers nodded.

"So then you're missing two rangers," Madison said.

Jason shook his head.

"Try again," he said.

"Wait a minute," Vida said. "So you're saying that the original white ranger was also ninjetti white and Zeo red?"

"You got it," Rocky said, though he wasn't smiling anymore.

None of the rangers were. Their faces were serious again for reasons the Mystic Force team didn't quite understand.

"So he was three?" Chip said in surprise.

"More," Adam said, not answering the question straight out. "I held three powers myself. It's possible."

"And it's not even close to the record," Zach smirked. "And I doubt anyone is ever going to beat it—though Billy comes a close second for longest actual time as a ranger."

They looked at Billy in surprise, but he just nodded in response. Deciding the newest team had enough proof, Jason glanced around and caught Adam's eye. Adam nodded in agreement.

"Power down," Jason said.

The rest of the group echoed him and soon they were all back in normal clothes.

"What about you, Jason?" Vida asked curiously, looking at her brother. "Were you the longest running ranger?"

He shook his head.

"I don't even come close," he said. "I left for the Peace Conferences, remember? Though I did come back as the gold zeo ranger for a little while, as Zach already pointed out."

"You really were the gold ranger?" Madison said, seeming surprised.

"Why else would I have come back early?" Jason said.

"Because your schedule for the second semester got messed up," Vida said. "I remember mom arguing on the phone with someone about it."

Jason smirked.

"That's because Billy messed with it for me to give me an excuse to come back," he said. "They needed help and T—and it was me they asked."

The twins exchanged disbelieving looks.

"It's still so hard to believe," Madison said quietly, looking at Jason. "All this time and we never knew."

"You weren't meant to know," he said, repeating his earlier statement.

She nodded.

"Ok," Chip said slowly. "So the two white rangers and red Zeo are all the same person? Doesn't that kind of make him one of the greatest rangers ever?"

"You could say that," Justin commented. "Most of us certainly think so."

Jason snorted, shaking his head.

"Don't start that again," he said. "He doesn't need that kind of encouragement—his ego is already big enough."

"And so is yours," Trini said drily.

Jason shot her a look but she just raised an eyebrow.

"But where is he?" Chip finally asked. "If he's one of the greatest rangers ever, why isn't he here?"

For a moment no one answered as all of the originals glanced to Jason. He studied Mystic Force, trying to decide how he wanted to answer.

"He hasn't been around much lately," he finally said.

"Did something happen to him?" Udonna asked softly, watching Jason closely.

"Yes," Jason said. "You could say that."

"What happened?" Madison asked.

Jason looked at her, a flicker of agitation passing across his face and briefly breaking the expressionless mask he was trying so hard to hold. Still none of the other rangers spoke, leaving it to their leader to decide what to say to the new rangers.

"He was betrayed," Jason said after a moment, pausing to see their reactions. "He was betrayed by people he was close to—people he considered family."

"Oh!" Madison gasped.

Vida and Chip looked just as surprised as she did. Nick and Xander, on the other hand, were now looking at Jason suspiciously.

"We haven't seen him much since then," Trini added softly, sighing.

"And did he tell you who betrayed him?" Nick asked, staring straight at Jason.

Jason returned the stare.

"As a matter of fact, no," he said. "He refused to tell us who it was—but we know."

"And have you done something about it?" Nick said, crossing his arms again.

Jason eyed the younger red ranger.

"No, we haven't," he said.

"Some teammate you are then," Nick scoffed. "If anyone betrayed one of my teammates like that I would be just letting it go."

"Is that so?" Jason said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, that's so," Nick snapped. "No one hurts my team and gets away with it. And if you were any kind of leader you wouldn't be letting it go like this either."

Jason raised an eyebrow, but didn't immediately react to the blatant insult.

"Then what do you recommend, rookie?" Jason asked coldly.

"Go after them!" Nick exclaimed. "Bring them to justice."

"Even if they were someone you considered family?" Jason countered.

"Especially if you thought they were family," Nick confirmed, looking straight at Jason. "Because family should know better."

Most of the rangers behind Jason were shaking their heads now as they looked at the young red. Billy was rubbing a hand across his face while Zach, Rocky, and Justin were all struggling to keep their amusement at the conversation off of their faces. Behind Nick, the three teachers were frowning. They could tell something was missing from this conversation. There was an important piece of information missing that they hadn't quite figured out. Xander was nodding, firmly in agreement with everything Nick was saying, while the other three just listened quietly.

"Isn't that right, Jason?" Nick asked, looking at Jason expectantly.

"Yes," Jason agreed. "Family should know better."

"So then why haven't you done anything?" Xander inserted.

Jason shot a glare at him, but Nick nodded.

"He's right," Nick said. "Why haven't you?"

"Because we can't," Trini said pointedly, looking at Nick.

"Why not?" Nick demanded. "Is it because of who they are?"

"Exactly," Jason growled.

"Fine," smirked Nick. "Then let us. We'll do something."

"Sure you will," Jason scoffed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, we will," Nick said shortly. "We'll do what you apparently can't. So tell us who they are—we'll bring them to justice."

Most of the other rangers with Jason sighed as they shook their heads at Nick. Zach snorted, quickly covering it up with a cough—Rocky and Justin did the same thing. Billy and Trini both looked at the young Mystic Force rangers with sympathy. The younger group had no idea where this conversation was going or what was about to happen.

"Sure," Jason said doubtfully.

"We will," Nick insisted. "So who was it, Jason? Who betrayed your white ranger?"

Nick was looking at him confidently, waiting for Jason to admit to the betrayal in front of his friends. He was sure that the man he now knew was the original red ranger was responsible for the betrayal as he had also never given up on the idea that Jason was working with an evil ranger.

"Was it you?" Nick persisted when Jason didn't immediately answer. "Or have you still not told your friends you're on the wrong side?"

Now several of the original rangers really did burst out laughing at Nick.

"You're crazy, rookie," Rocky snorted. "Jason couldn't pull off evil if he tried—not unless there's magic involved and someone else is in control."

Jason shot a glare at Rocky, but the other red ranger just grinned.

"It wasn't me," Jason growled, turning back to Nick. "I haven't betrayed anyone."

"Sure," Nick scoffed. "Then who was it?"

Jason paused for another moment and then gestured at the five young rangers in front of him.

"It was you," he said grimly. "The five of you."

The stared at him in shock, momentarily speechless at the accusation.

"What are you talking about?" Nick sputtered in outrage. "We've never even met him!"

"Haven't you?" Jason growled. "Are you sure about that?"

"Of course he is," Vida snapped. "When would we have met him?"

"Think about it," Justin snapped back at her.

He was glaring at them now, all traces of amusement gone.

"You've known your brother and his friends your whole lives," he said to the girls. "Look closely. Who's missing?"

"What?" Vida frowned, looking at him before glancing around the group.

"Who's missing?" Justin repeated. "Come on, now. It shouldn't be that hard—even for the five of you."

Nick growled at the insult, but Madison suddenly gasped.

"No," she said, adamantly shaking her head. "No. It can't be."

"What?" Nick frowned, glancing at her.

She shook her head again.

"Vida," she said, looking at her sister expectantly.

"What?" Vida said. "I don't get it. Who is he talking about?"

Justin rolled his eyes.

"Ok, let me explain it in a different way for those of you with a lesser intelligence," he said. "Think big, strong, fearsome—teddy bear..."

Zach snorted and then started coughing for real as he choked on his laugh. Kim rolled her eyes and reached over to slap him on the back as he doubled over. Mystic Force, with the exception of Madison, just continued to look confused.

"Alright, fine," Justin sighed. "Think dark hair, dark eyes, and constantly loses—well, everything."

"Yes," Zach choked out, still laughing. "Exactly."

Vida's eyes widened as she finally got the hint.

"No," she said adamantly. "Tommy can't be him."

The three boys looked at her in shock and Nick's eyes narrowed as he spun back to face the original rangers.

"Not a chance," he snarled. "Tommy is evil—he's already proven that. There's no way he could be any of those rangers."

"He's not evil!" Jason snarled, clenching his fists. "What is it going to take to get that through your heads?"

All of the young Mystic Force rangers were glaring back at him now. Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron were watching more hesitantly. They had yet to hear anything about this from anyone other than their students. Now they stayed silent, not wanting to take sides without having all of the information.

"He attacked us!" Xander retorted.

"I've heard about all the things the white rangers, and red zeo, did from Maddy and V," Nick snapped at Jason. "And I've heard all about the green ranger, too. There is no way Tommy could be both. Tommy is evil—"

"Enough!" Jason roared, momentarily silencing the younger rangers. "Tommy isn't evil and I'm not going to sit here and listen to the five of you insult him."

"Jason—" Vida started to say.

"Don't," Jason snapped. "Tommy was the green ranger. I won't say he wasn't. He did things he's not proud of and that he has regretted every day since. But he hasn't been that person in a long time."

"Says the man helping him," Nick snapped back. "Tommy—"

"Tommy is a good man," Justin snarled at him before Jason could say anything. "Tommy has saved countless lives by putting his own on the line. He has nearly sacrificed everything on multiple occasions to keep some villain from destroying the world. And he's the one who put all of his time and energy into fixing anything he had destroyed. It is Tommy who has dedicated his life to the rangers and everything we stand for. And he's the one who was a teammate to every single one of us here. If it wasn't for him, most of us wouldn't even be standing here today."

He paused to take a breath, still glaring at them.

"So what is it going to take for you to believe us?" Justin demanded, glaring at the Mystic Force team.

Nick scowled.

"Proof," he answered shortly. "Solid evidence that Tommy isn't and hasn't been evil since then and that he has actually done some kind of good."

Irritated looks were exchanged all around the group of originals.

"So you're saying our word isn't good enough?" Jason challenged, crossing his arms.

"No, it's not," Nick said.

"Bowen, they have no reason to lie to you," Leanbow said, frowning.

But Nick shook his head adamantly.

"No," he said, not budging. "He attacked us and I'm not just going to let that go. They need to prove that he's not what he was or we aren't changing our minds."

The other four nodded in agreement, some more hesitantly than others. Leanbow sighed, exchanging looks with Udonna and Daggeron. This was the first they were really hearing about that night. The younger members of the team hadn't really said anything outside of mentioning that Tommy was an evil ranger and that they had chased him out of Briarwood.

"Fine," Justin growled. "You want proof? I'll get you proof."

Smirking, he held up his communicator as Jason turned to look at him, frowning.

"Justin, now wait just a minute," he said. "You are not—"

"Can anyone hear me?" Justin cried into the communicator, suddenly sounding completely panicked. "Please, help!"

All of the rangers looked at him in surprise. Eyes narrowing, Jason started stalking toward him.

"Please!" he exclaimed. "I'm at the museum outside of Reefside and there's some kind of monster. It's all red and it looks really angry."

Growling, Jason moved a little quicker and started reaching for Justin. Yelping, the young blue ranger darted away and Jason started chasing him.

"Hurry! It saw me!" Justin cried, still shouting into the communicator as he ran. "He's going to kill me! Help!"

As Jason chased Justin through and around the rangers, Mystic Force watched in surprise at their behavior. The rest of the originals, however, were either rolling their eyes or laughing at the pair running in circles. Zach was doubled over and practically on the ground as he laughed hysterically.

"Oh, this so made the trip worth it," he snorted, nearly choking as he spoke. "Officially the best meeting ever."

"Justin, get over here!" Jason demanded, still trying to corner the younger ranger.

But Justin continued to dodge in and out of the others for a few minutes before finally hiding behind Kat. Raising an eyebrow, she glanced back at him.

"Get out here, runt," Jason growled, glaring at him as he stood panting in front of Kat.

"Not a chance," Justin said, shaking his head. "And I'm not that short anymore, Jason."

"Justin, you can't use me as a shield," Kat frowned. "You aren't twelve anymore."

"But he won't hit the pretty girl," Justin grinned. "Woman—pretty woman!"

Her eyes had narrowed briefly at being called a girl so he had quickly corrected himself. Sighing, she rolled her eyes as he gave her a pleading look.

"You're lucky I still think you're cute," she said. "But you can't keep using me as a shield. You'll have to deal with him sooner or later."

"Oh, come on," Justin said, shooting a glance at Jason. "You won't let him hurt me. You love me too much."

"And you're old enough now to be responsible for yourself," she reminded him.

He shrugged, still grinning.

"Justin, I told you that you weren't allowed to call them!" Jason snapped, crossing his arms. "You gave your word."

"And I didn't call them," Justin countered. "I used the Turbo frequency."

"He's not supposed to know about it!" Jason growled.

"Jason, relax," Kim said. "It's not like he can really come help anyways. He's too far away. He'll probably just call you and you can tell him Justin is being dramatic. It's kind of hard to answer emergency calls when you're in another country."

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"But he's not!" he snapped. "He's—oh, great. Just great."

The roar of motors could be heard now. It was coming from the woods and getting louder by the second. In the next moment five vehicles came speeding out of the trees toward the group of rangers.


	48. Chapter 48

_Okay guys here is the long awaited confrontation between tommy and the mystic force rangers i hope you all like it. This is actually the second ending that we wrote for this story we liked it better so we are posting it as part of the story. the other ending will be posted after the epolige so that if you would like you can see where we went with it. Thank you so much there is a few more chapters before we end but we are getting close now! Thanks for sticking with us and all your feed back it will help us get reattached to the personalities for future stories. Thanks again and enjoy!_

* * *

**_LAST TIME:_**

_"Jason, relax," Kim said. "It's not like he can really come help anyways. He's too far away. He'll probably just call you and you can tell him Justin is being dramatic. It's kind of hard to answer emergency calls when you're in another country."_

_Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face._

_"But he's not!" he snapped. "He's—oh, great. Just great."_

_The roar of motors could be heard now. It was coming from the woods and getting louder by the second. In the next moment five vehicles came speeding out of the trees toward the group of rangers._

* * *

"Well, that was fast," Justin muttered. "They must have been at his house or it would have taken longer."

Jason just glared in response, too late to stop anyone from showing up. Moving almost faster than the eye could see, all five sped up to the rangers and skidded to a rather abrupt halt behind the originals. Barely pausing, the drivers launched off of their vehicles and charged in on the defensive. All five were morphed and ready to go, looking for whatever threat Justin had called them about.

"What's the emergency?" the red ranger demanded, looking around expectantly. "Where's the monster?"

The originals glanced around at each other hesitantly.

"There isn't one…" Jason finally muttered, shooting a glare at Justin.

The black ranger stepped forward, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean?" he asked, clearly not happy. "Justin? What's going on?"

"Well…" Justin said hesitantly, looking sheepish. "So maybe there wasn't an actual monster. But he is red and he was really angry. Actually, I'm pretty sure he still wants to kill me."

He glanced at Jason who glared back. The black ranger didn't say anything for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"So, you mean to tell me there isn't an actual emergency?" he demanded.

"No…" Justin mumbled. "I was just trying to get you here…"

"And you couldn't just pick up a phone and call me?" he snapped.

"Jason said I wasn't allowed to!" Justin protested. "He forgot to cover calling you on the morpher for any reason."

"Jason?" the black ranger growled, turning to the red ranger. "What is going on? And what are all of you even doing here?"

"Well," Jason said hesitantly as everyone turned to look at him. "You see—we're here because—mmm…"

He paused, trying to come up with a good reason as to why he hadn't told him about the meeting.

"Jason," the black ranger growled again.

"It's a meeting," Jason finally answered.

"A meeting?" he said shortly. "Out here? What on earth could you need to meet out here for?"

"Not important," Jason said quickly. "You weren't even supposed to know we were here—"

"What?" the black ranger snapped. "So you're just leaving me out of things now?"

"No, To—" Jason started to protest, realizing he'd said the wrong thing.

"Don't try and back pedal now, Jason," he snarled. "You purposefully didn't tell me you were meeting with everyone here. What? Is this punishment for leaving the country? You just don't tell me things now? Because heaven forbid I do anything else with my life besides keep track of all of this."

He gestured around, clearly agitated now.

"We weren't just trying to leave you out—" Kim tried saying.

"Not now, Kim," he snapped, whipping around on her. "You're just as bad as him. Constantly calling me and asking how I'm doing and barely giving me space to breathe let alone get anything done. I don't need you hovering all the time—it's not high school and you are not solely responsible for keeping track of me."

She looked back at him in shock, not expecting the lecture.

"Hey, man," Zach frowned. "No need to be so mean. She's just concerned like the rest of us."

As the black ranger whipped around to look at Zach, Kim looked at the other Dino Thunder rangers.

"When was the last time he slept?" she hissed at them as he started ranting at Zach.

"Four days ago?" the white ranger, who was standing closest to her, answered quietly. "Not really sure. Naps haven't exactly been helping…"

Her eyes widened. But he hadn't even noticed them whispering, to absorbed in ranting at some of the other rangers.

"You've been calling me just as much as she has," he was snapping at Zach. "And without consideration of whether I might actually be sleeping or working or with other people. I get that you've been stressed about what's been going on, but he's already driing me up the wall trying ot check in with me all the time."

He gestured at Jason who had long ago given up trying to interrupt and explain why they were actually there.

"But no," he continued ranting. "I try and get some space and all of a sudden no one can leave me alone for five minutes. You keep calling, you keep pestering me online, and you—"

He stopped in surprise, looking at Billy.

"And you are not supposed to be here," he said in surprise. "Billy, what are you doing here? And when did you get here?"

"This morning," Billy answered.

"Oh, good," the black ranger muttered. "And we're keeping even more things from me. Why didn't anyone tell me you were coming?"

"I do not believe anyone outside of Jason knew I was returning," Billy said, glancing at Jason for confirmation.

"He's right," Jason sighed, finally getting to speak again. "I didn't tell anyone because his coming was a surprise. I was planning on swinging by your house and surprising you with him after we were done here."

The black ranger took a deep breath.

"You still haven't actually told me what you're doing here," he said shortly.

"It's a meeting," Jason said.

"Way out here?" he said doubtfully.

"It was a halfway point," Jason muttered.

"Halfway to where?"

The blue Dino Thunder started tapping him on the shoulder.

"What?" the black ranger snapped, glancing over his shoulder at him.

"I found the problem," he answered, pointing.

Spinning, the black ranger followed where the younger ranger was pointing and froze. Mystic Force was still standing there, not really sure what to do with the arrival of the team that had threatened them—not to mention all of the shouting that was happening.

"Great," he muttered. "Just wonderful."

The red ranger, turning to see what was going on, stiffened.

"Oh no," he growled. "No, no, no, no, no. Not okay."

He started stalking toward Mystic Force, three of four teammates on his heels.

"None of you should be here," he snapped, ready to challenge them.

"Conner, stop," the black ranger interrupted, putting himself between Dino Thunder and Mystic Force.

"Not a chance," Conner snapped back as Mystic Force jerked in surprise at the name. "They have no right to be here. No one said they were welcome."

"We were invited," Nick snapped in response.

"Sure," Conner scoffed. "By who?"

Mystic Force, as well as quite a few of the originals, all pointed at Jason. Conner whipped around to look at him, obviously surprised to hear that.

"You've got to be kidding me," he snapped. "You invited them? This is our turf, not yours! You have no right to let them trespass here!"

"Conner, enough," the black ranger said again.

"They can't be here," Conner snarled, taking another step toward Mystic Force.

"Stop, now," the black ranger snapped. "Power down."

Conner shook his head adamantly.

"Not happening," he retorted. "Not with them here."

"Power down now!" the black ranger ordered. "You don't need powers here. This isn't about you."

"It involves your safety, which means it involves me," Conner growled.

"Power down."

They stood off against each other for a moment, neither of them budging.

"Now," the black ranger repeated.

"Fine," Conner snapped. "Power down."

He powered down, the rest of the Dino Thunder following his lead. Mystic Force stared in shock as they looked at the group in recognition.

"You—you guys are Dino Thunder!" Chip exclaimed, excited and nervous as he looked at them.

Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Trent glared back.

"Duh," Ethan snorted. "Way to point out the obvious."

"Ethan, enough," Tommy said shortly, glancing back at Mystic Force briefly and then back at his team. "I need you four to go back to the house. Hayley is there sleeping and she probably still doesn't know we left."

"I'm not going anywhere," Conner scowled, crossing his arms as he continued to glare at Mystic Force. "Not with them here."

Tommy rubbed a hand over his face.

"Guys, please," he said. "Go."

"No can do, Dr. O," Ethan said.

"Not leaving you," Kira agreed, shaking her head.

Trent started to agree and then sighed.

"Alright, I'll go," he said.

"Thank you," Tommy said, nodding at him.

Trent nodded back, pausing next to Kira for a moment.

"Kick one of them for me," he muttered.

"Oh, I've got that covered," she hissed. "They aren't getting off that easily."

Smiling faintly at her, Trent walked back to his ATV and climbed on. Gunning the engine, he looked at his team and Mystic Force one more time before speeding off back into the trees. Taking a deep breath, Tommy glanced at Mystic Force again and then focused his attention on Dino Thunder and the rest of the originals.

"You should have told me, Jase," he said, looking at Jason. "This is my problem, not yours—remember? You have enough problems of your own to deal with involving them. Like actually talking to your sisters again. You shouldn't have kept this a secret."

"And you didn't need to be here," Jason countered. "We were fixing things with us and then you could have had your say. You didn't need to be involved in this part."

"But now I am," Tommy said shortly. "And now it's my problem and all of you need to stay out of it."

He glanced around meaningfully at all of them, making it clear he meant all of his teammates, not just Jason.

"Dr. O—" Conner started to protest.

"No," Tommy snapped. "You will stay out of this, Conner. This is not your problem to deal with."

"But I'm your red—" he tried again.

"Your word," Tommy interrupted. "I want all of you to swear you'll let me fix this on my own. Please."

He looked around expectantly, his expression telling all of them he wasn't budging on the issue.

"Come on, Tommy," Jason sighed. "Just let—"

"Your word, Jase," Tommy repeated. "All of you. No interference until this is over. By the Power."

For a moment no one spoke. Finally they all nodded, clearly reluctant, as they muttered the promise not to interfere. Nodding in satisfaction, Tommy took a deep breath and turned to Conner. Flicking his left wrist, he called his Dino morpher back. But, to everyone's surprise, he didn't use it. Instead, he took the band off of his wrist and handed both the morpher and the key to a surprised Conner.

"Dr. O?" Conner said hesitantly, not really sure what to think as he held his mentor's morpher.

But Tommy just shook his head and turned away. Flicking his wrist again as he walked, Tommy headed straight toward Justin. The younger ranger was frowning as he looked at Tommy, but he didn't move. Stopping in front of Justin, Tommy held out his hands and Justin took what the older ranger was holding out to him—his Turbo morpher and key. Concerned looks were flying around the group now as they slowly started realizing what he was doing.

Turning away from Justin, Tommy flicked both wrists now as he moved to stand in front of Adam. As with Conner and Justin before, Tommy held out his Zeo morpher to Adam. The green ranger took them reluctantly, not bothering to hide the fact that he didn't like where this was heading. Tommy just smiled faintly at him, nodding before turning to look at Rocky who was standing next to Adam. Taking a deep breath, Tommy concentrated for a moment and then held out his hand again. This time he held a white coin, which Rocky took just as reluctantly as Adam had taken the Zeo morphers.

"Don't do this, Tommy," Rocky said quietly. "There are other ways."

Tommy shook his head and walked away. He didn't stop again until he was standing in front of Jason. The red ranger was clearly unhappy about what was happening right now, but he didn't hesitate to take the coin Tommy handed him. But he did seem surprised when he looked at it. The coin in his hand was a second white coin.

"This is the tiger coin, Tommy," he frowned. "But what about—"

"It's not your choice this time, Jase," Tommy said, shaking his head.

Jason looked at Tommy in shock as the other ranger turned away. Outside of Hayley, Jason had been the only one Tommy had ever willingly handed the last coin over to—and for good reason. But Tommy didn't look at any of his friends or teammates again. His attention was now completely focused on Mystic Force. They had been watching the whole process in confusion, not entirely sure what to think of what Tommy was doing. Now he stopped in front of them, holding tightly to something in his right hand.

"It's your turn," he said, looking at Nick. "You have a choice to make."

Taking a deep breath, he held up the coin he'd been holding. The rangers behind him flinched at the sight of the green coin, guessing what he was about to do.

"If you want to hurt me, fine," Tommy continued evenly, no hesitation in his voice. "But this ends today—one way or another. If you think you need to punish me for what I did as the green ranger, then so be it. I have done everything I could over the years to balance the scales, but that doesn't have to mean anything to you."

He paused, glancing at the coin in his hand.

"So it's up to you," he said, looking back at Nick. "You know what I've done and now it's up to you. Make your choice. Hit me, kick me, beat me—even kill me. Whatever you think I deserve. But you make that choice now and, once you've decided, then it's over. It doesn't come up ever again. I will not continue to be the reason the Rangers are divided. So make your choice."

He held up the green coin so they could all see it clearly.

"You have everything you need to stop me in this," he said as it flashed in the sunlight. "All you have to do to kill me is drain the rest of the power from this coin. It's tied directly to my life force. Once the power is gone I'll be dead in moments."

Behind Tommy his friends and teammates were clenching fists or fighting tears. All of them were regretting having given their word now. None of them had dared to think he would do something like this. Most of them were obviously fighting to keep their word, struggling with themselves to stay where they were.

"So make your choice," Tommy said quietly. "It's up to you."

But instead of handing it to Nick like they all expected, he shifted and handed the coin to Madison. She took it without thinking, staring at him in shock as it registered what he had just done. But Tommy just took a step back, waiting.

"That's all there is," he said, waiting for their response. "There are no more powers, no more defenses. That's it. Now it's all up to you. Make your choice."

For a long moment, nothing happened as Madison stared at the coin in her hand. A flash of light off to the side make them all jump. When the light cleared, five new people were standing there, all of them ready for a fight.

"Where's the emergency?" Andros asked, looking around for the problem.

Justin groaned, still holding Tommy's morpher tightly.

"Not a good time, guys," he muttered, looking back and forth between them and Tommy.

Seeing Tommy facing off against Mystic Force, Andros frowned and started to step forward with his team.

"Tommy?" he said hesitantly.

But Tommy held up a hand.

"Stand down," he said, not taking his eyes off of Mystic Force. "Everything is under control."

Andros halted, glancing around again. None of the Space Rangers liked what they were seeing. And the looks on the faces of the other rangers didn't make them feel any better.

"What's going on, man?" TJ asked, frowning.

Tommy just shook his head, his gaze still focused on the young rangers in front of him.

"Make your decision," he said. "No one is going to stop you. I won't fight back."

Madison looked at Nick, still holding the coin. Taking his eyes off of Tommy for a moment, Nick reached over and took the coin from Madison. Most of the originals, and Dino Thunder, flinched as though wanting to move to interfere. But no one actually moved from their places even though several were visibly shaking as they watched what was happening.

"What are you going to do, Nick?" Tommy asked. "This is your chance. Decide."

Nick turned to look at Tommy again, taking a fighting stance as he held the coin in one fist. Tommy didn't move, a look of resignation flickering across his face as he watched the young red ranger.

"Fine," Nick said, closing the gap between them.

He moved as though to hit Tommy, stopping just short of actually connecting. Tommy didn't even flinch. He just waited. Hesitating, Nick glanced over his shoulder at the rest of his team. Madison, Chip, Vida, and Xander were all looking at him with wide eyes. They were ready to follow his lead no matter what his decision was, but it was obvious to everyone that none of them were sure about this choice anymore. Tommy's actions had them second guessing themselves. Leanbow, Daggeron, and Udonna were watching Nick with expressions approaching disappointment. Nick glanced toward them, locking gazes with his father.

"Bowen," Leanbow said quietly.

For another moment, he didn't move. Then he let his arm fall and took a step back. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Tommy and held out his hand.

"It's over," he said, opening his hand to give back the green coin.

Tommy studied the young red for a moment and then nodded. Reaching out, he took the green power coin back.

"Then it's over," he said in agreement.

Behind him, the rest of the rangers had visibly relaxed, all of them breathing sighs of relief. Behind Nick, the young Mystic Force rangers also exchanged looks of relief as their mentors nodded in approval. The Space rangers were still watching hesitantly, not entirely sure what had just happened.

"I take it we missed something here," TJ said slowly, looking over at the originals.

"Yep," Justin nodded. "And you guys have the worst timing ever. Why are you even here?"

Andros looked at Justin with a confused look on his face.

"Justin, you called us," he said. "Or rather, you called them."

He gestured to the rest of his team.

"You said you were in trouble," TJ added. "So why did you need us, kid?"

Justin groaned, smacking a hand to his forehead.

"Didn't think about that," he muttered. "Umm… I don't actually need any of you right now. I was just trying to get Tommy here…"

"So there's no monster?" Ashley frowned, crossing her arms.

Justin shook his head sheepishly. Everyone was watching them, now.

"Not exactly," he said. "Though I'm pretty sure Jason still wants to kill me… And possibly everyone else wants to, too, after what just happened…"

There were nods around the group, including from Kat. Justin took a step away from her. Andros took a deep breath.

"Justin, we were in the middle of exiting the atmosphere when you called," he said irritably. "We had to finish our exit, do a complete turn around and re-enter just to get here."

"Whoops…" Justin said, starting to move further away from the other rangers. "Umm… Maybe I'll just—"

"Don't move," Tommy and Jason ordered in unison.

Flinching, Justin froze in place.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" he mumbled.

"You bet, kid," TJ said, glaring at him.

Tommy and Jason both nodded.

"But we'll deal with you later," Jason growled. "After we're done here."

"Don't worry, Jase," Tommy said, shaking his head. "He's not going to do it again. Justin gets to clean my lab now. From top to bottom—and the kids had a coming home party last night."

Conner and the other three Dino Thunder rangers grinned as Justin groaned.

"It was fun," he said. "And we didn't clean anything yet because we fell asleep."

"But Tommy…" Justin protested.

Tommy just shook his head.

"You know better," he said firmly. "The communicators are for real emergencies only."

Andros and the other Space rangers were exchanging looks.

"We need to leave," Andros said. "They are expecting us on KO-35. But, if you don't mind, Tommy, I think we will borrow your idea. The ship could use some cleaning."

Justin's eyes widened as he whipped around to look at the five Space rangers.

"You can't be serious," he said.

"Completely," TJ smirked. "You can start in my room."

Justin groaned.

"Take him," Tommy said, nodding. "We can take our turns when he comes back."

Glancing around wildly as TJ started walking toward him, Justin tried to bolt back toward his car. But TJ caught him, holding the younger ranger in a headlock as he squirmed.

"Let's go, squirt," he said. "You've got a lot of work to do."

"TJ, let go!" Justin protested. "Tommy, help!"

"Hold up, TJ," Tommy suddenly said, moving toward them.

Pausing, TJ frowned as Justin looked momentarily relieved.

"I'll take that back now," Tommy said to Justin, holding out a hand expectantly. "I don't really want you taking it to KO-35 with you."

Justin's relief was dashed as Tommy took back his Turbo morpher and TJ started laughing. As Tommy moved back to stand with the rest of the rangers, TJ finished hauling the struggling Justin over to the Space rangers.

"Come on, guys!" Justin protested. "I said I was sorry! And what about Blaster—"

His voice cut off as the six rangers suddenly disappeared in another flash of light. In the parking lot, Blaster beeped sadly. Tommy sighed as Jason frowned.

"Leave it, Jase," Tommy said, shaking his head. "Blaster will be fine. We have other things to worry about right now."

Turning from where the Space rangers had been, Tommy started heading back over to talk to Mystic Force. Nick had moved back to stand with his teammates and they were talking quietly amongst themselves as they watched the other teams. They stopped talking as Tommy stopped in front of them. He studied the group for a moment as they waited.

"Now that this is over," Tommy finally said. "It stays over. If you guys have questions for me later on down the road, I'm happy to answer them, but this is no longer an issue. You will abide by the decision you made. Agreed?"

"Agreed," the young rangers echoed.

"So," Chip said hesitantly. "Does that mean we're part of the rangers now? Do we get to meet everyone else, too?"

Tommy smiled, but didn't answer. Instead, he turned back to look at Jason. Leaving the others, Jason moved to stand next to Tommy. Stopping next to him, Jason slung an arm around Tommy's shoulders as he looked at Mystic Force.

"Yes," he said. "Now that this has been resolved, you are officially part of the rangers and you'll be able to meet the others."

The young rangers grinned in excitement.

"However," Jason said, turning his attention to Tommy. "If you ever pull anything like that ever again I will kill you."

He gripped Tommy's shoulder hard as he spoke, just to emphasize his point. Tommy winced, but didn't move.

"Ouch, Jase," he muttered.

"Don't complain," Jason said. "Here. This belongs to you."

Letting go of Tommy, he handed the other ranger back his coin. Tommy took it, looking at it for a moment before putting it in his pocket. Taking a cue from Jason, some of the others joined the two leaders. Adam and Rocky came first, shaking their heads at him.

"You're going to give us all heart attacks, man," Rocky said, holding out the falcon coin. "I thought we were done with this stuff years ago."

Adam nodded in agreement, holding out Tommy's Zeo bracelets.

"He's got a point, Falcon," he said. "None of us are used to these scares anymore. You were bad enough during Dino Thunder."

Tommy just rolled his eyes, taking his morphers back. The coin went into his pocket with the other two and the bracelets he put on his wrists. He flicked his wrists to make them disappear.

"You idiot!" Kim exclaimed from behind him.

Tommy turned around in surprise, not having heard her come up. The petite woman glared at him.

"How dare you do that to us!" she cried, smacking his arm. "Isn't it enough that we had to watch you try and sacrifice yourself all through high school and then deal with knowing you were probably doing the same thing two years ago? Not to mention the whole freshman year in college fiasco. Now you're going to offer yourself up right in front of us after making sure we won't do anything? You are a complete idiot!"

She kept hitting him as she spoke, punctuating her points with her strikes. Finally Tommy caught her hand to stop her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But everything is fine."

Her eyes narrowed and she tried to hit him with her other hand. But he caught it, stopping her.

"It's not fine," she snapped. "Tommy, you could have died!"

He sighed, not really having an argument for that statement. More of the rangers had moved forward, the rest of the girls taking the lead behind Kim as they started crowding around him.

"Kim, I'm fine," he said again. "I promise."

She just burst into tears, dropping her head against his chest. Sighing again, he let go of her hands. Kim wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Tommy hugged her back, looking at the others over her head, mouthing 'help'. Smirking, Zach reached around the rest of the girls and took Kim's arm.

"Come on, Kimmie," he said. "Give everyone else a turn to beat on him."

Tommy glared at Zach as he pulled Kim away. She was still trying to get her tears under control.

"Talk about emotion," Xander muttered, shooting a smirk at Vida. "Glad you aren't like that."

Vida hit him as Kim glared at the young green ranger, his comment having been a little louder than intended. He got a few looks from some of the others, but they were still mostly focused on Tommy.

"I wish you would stop scaring us," Trini said, shaking her head as she gave him a hug.

"She's right," Aisha agreed, crossing her arms. "And when did you even get home? Last we knew you were still overseas in who-knows-what-country."

Tommy shrugged.

"I got home the day the girls were born," he answered, stifling a yawn. "So…A couple of weeks ago?"

"And you didn't tell us?" Kat frowned.

"Jason's job," Tommy said. "I've been a little busy."

Several looks were shot at Jason, but he just glared back. Mystic Force exchanged confused looks, but didn't interrupt. They were still hesitant as to where they stood with the originals at this moment.

"So when do we get to meet them, then?" Kat asked. "Can we come over when we're done here?"

Tommy grimaced, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head.

"I don't know, guys," he said. "The house is a mess, nothing has been done in weeks, both of us are fighting for sleep…"

He trailed off, yawning.

"I'm supposed to be home sleeping right now," he continued. "And the kids are supposed to be babysitting so we could get some sleep. Hayley is going to kill me when she finds out I left instead of going to bed…"

"Umm… Sorry to interrupt," Vida said. "But babysitting who? What girls are you talking about?"

The originals stopped talking, turning to look at her in surprise.

"My girls," Tommy frowned. "Didn't I—"

"Tommy, they still don't know," Jason interrupted, shaking his head. "Because they haven't had a civil conversation with either of us since before you knew about them."

"Right," Tommy nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. "Hayley and I just had twin girls."

Madison and Vida looked at him in shock.

"Are you serious?" Madison said.

He nodded, yawning again.

"I hope so," he mumbled. "Because otherwise someone is really messing with my head…"

"Pretty sure the lack of sleep is doing enough of that, Dr. O," Ethan said, grinning as the remaining three Dino Thunder rangers finally joined the group.

They had held back for a few minutes, letting Tommy's friends go first. Now they ducked through the crowd of rangers to stand with Tommy.

"When was the last time you slept, bro?" Jason frowned, looking at Tommy.

"Yesterday?" Tommy said hesitantly, clearly not sure of the answer.

But Conner, Kira, and Ethan shook their heads.

"Try four days ago," Kira corrected. "Fifteen minute naps don't count. You kept getting up every time one of the girls made a noise that even remotely sounded like crying."

Tommy ducked his head sheepishly as his friends frowned at him, but didn't try and argue.

"Falcon, go home," Jason said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Take the kids with you and get some sleep. We'll finish things up here and then head home. We can come by another day once you've had time to pull yourself back together."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Tommy muttered.

He started to walk back toward his ATV and then stopped, turning to look at Madison and Vida.

"It really is good to know you don't actually hate me," he said, smiling tentatively at them. "We'll have to catch up soon. I'd like to know what I've missed since that night."

The twins exchanged guilty looks and then both of them ran over to hug him, throwing their arms around Tommy from either side.

"We're sorry, Tommy," they said together, hugging him tightly.

"We really are," Madison said. "Please don't be mad at us… We were completely wrong about everything."

He hugged them back.

"Not everything," he said quietly. "But it's over now. So go make up with your brother and I'll talk to you both soon."

They both glanced at Jason before looking back at Tommy and nodding. Letting go, they moved back to stand with their friends as Dino Thunder started to follow Tommy.

"You might want this back, Dr. O," Conner said, holding out his hand.

"Thanks, Conner," Tommy said, taking his Dino morpher back and putting it on. "Any of you three going to yell at me?"

He'd been scolded by almost everyone else, so he looked at them expectantly, waiting for one of them to express how unhappy they were with what he had done. But they just exchanged looks.

"You know what you're doing," Conner finally said. "We don't have to like it all the time, but you know what you are doing."

Tommy raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Ethan said, shrugging. "You do. Or at least that's what you keep telling us."

"But if they had chosen differently," Kira said slowly, glancing over her shoulder at Mystic Force. "We can't promise they'd still be standing."

Conner and Ethan both nodded in agreement, their faces serious again.

"Guys, I told you—" Tommy started to say.

"Sorry, Dr. O," Conner interrupted, shaking his head. "But you told us not to interfere in what you were doing. If they had hurt you in any way—especially if they had used the coin—then their choice is made. Once that was over, we weren't held to a promise anymore. No one here would let it go unpunished."

Tommy grimaced, realizing he had forgotten to cover what they could do afterward in his promise. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed, glad Mystic Force had decided to trust him. Behind them, a few of the Mystic Force rangers were shaking their heads.

"There's no way the three of you could have taken us down," Xander said. "It's three on five—and we have our wands. You three wouldn't have stood a chance."

Frowning, the younger three Dino rangers turned to look at the green ranger. Jason groaned, looking at Tommy. But Tommy just shrugged, yawning again as he moved to sit on his ATV. He wasn't going to interfere until it got out of hand.

"Oh, we'd have had a chance," Conner scowled. "You wouldn't have known what hit you."

"Surprise is a wonderful thing," Kira added, smirking as she crossed her arms. "You'd be on the ground before we even touched you, and then it's all downhill from there."

"Yeah right," Xander scoffed, shaking his head.

Chip was looking back and forth between Dino Thunder and his team nervously.

"Uh, Xander?" he said. "I don't think—"

"We got this, Chip," Xander interrupted. "They've got nothing on us without the rest of their team, even if they don't want to admit it. We'd barely have to put in any effort."

Kira, Ethan, and Conner exchanged smug looks. Most of the older rangers were trying not to laugh at the predicament they young Mystic Force rangers were about to be in.

"Wanna bet?" Ethan grinned. "See who can drop who first? No one gets seriously hurt, of course. It'll all be in good fun."

"And what's the prize?" Nick asked suspiciously, shooting a look at Xander.

The green ranger shrugged sheepishly, but didn't back down.

"No prize," Conner said, shaking his head. "Just the knowledge that you won should be enough."

"Guys," Jason said, crossing his arms as he looked at Dino Thunder. "This isn't how we do things."

"Relax, Jason," Conner grinned. "We won't break them—much."

"Break us?" Vida said, shaking her head. "Not likely. But we don't need to prove ourselves to you, right boys?"

She shot a look at Xander and Nick, but both of them had taken affront to Conner's challenge.

"I say you show us what you can do first," Xander said. "See if it's worth the effort."

Conner glanced at Kira and she nodded.

"Alright," she said, smirking as she stepped forward. "Remember, you asked for this."

There was a sudden flurry of movement as she moved to face Mystic Force. All of the originals moved to make sure they were standing a ways behind her, leaving Ethan and Conner the only ones standing next to her.

"Hey, Tommy?" Zach said, poking at the sleepy ranger on his ATV. "Don't you think now would be a good time to say something?"

Tommy jerked, his head flying up. He'd been falling asleep. Seeing what was about to happen, he groaned and leapt back to his feet. But he didn't say anything, he just hurried toward the group of young rangers.

"You guys might want to move," Ethan said, warning the three mentors as Kira paused briefly.

They frowned, but as Kira started taking a deep breath they decided to take his advice and allow their students to deal with the consequences of the challenge on their own. The three disappeared from sight, deeming the small use of magic appropriate given the situation. Tommy, on the other hand, dove past his students as Kira finished drawing breath. As she let loose a shrill scream, he tackled Madison and Vida to the ground and covered them, kicking Chip's feet out from under him as they fell to get him out of the way.

The yellow ranger's sonic scream echoed through the open space surrounding the museum, but it was targeted straight toward Xander and Nick. Xander, standing in front, bore the brunt of it and dropped to his knees as he covered his ears in pain. Nick stumbled, but managed to catch himself before he fell as he stared at her in shock. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it was over. As the echoes of Kira's sonic scream faded away, Tommy let Madison and Vida back up and Daggeron, Leanbow, and Udonna reappeared. Chip scrambled back to his feet, a look of shock and awe on his face.

"How did you do that?" he exclaimed excitedly, looking at Kira.

She shrugged, smirking.

"Enhanced genetic ability," she answered. "We all have them. So what was that about being easy to take down?"

"What?" Xander half-shouted, still trying to get his bearings again.

Vida and Madison, now on their feet with Tommy's help, shook their heads. Reaching down, Vida hauled him to his feet.

"And next time you'll keep your mouth shut," she said, glaring at him.

"Nick, are you alright?" Madison asked, going to check on him.

"I think so," he muttered, shaking his head. "My ears are ringing…"

"It'll pass," Tommy assured him, stifling another yawn. "Just give it a while."

Nick nodded and Tommy turned to look at his teammates.

"If you three are done, can we go home now?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Before Hayley wakes up and realizes something is going on?"

"Ready when you are, Dr. O," Conner grinned. "See ya later, rookies."

Leaving the originals still shaking their heads and Nick and Xander trying to recover from the sonic scream, Tommy and the three younger rangers hopped on their cycles and ATVs. Waving a quick goodbye, they all hit the gas and sped out of sight. Once they were gone, Jason turned back to Mystic Force, crossing his arms.

"Now that Tommy and the pests are gone," he said. "There are a few things I want to clear up before we leave here today."

"Of course," Nick said, still rubbing his ears a little.

Feeling a little guilty over what had happened with Tommy now, he was ready to listen to whatever Jason had to say to them. Xander, on the other hand, was grimacing and shaking his head as he tried to get his hearing back. But, having experienced the consequences of being in front of Kira's sonic scream once in the past, he knew there was no point in waiting. The young green ranger would be hearing loud ringing for a while.

"We're listening, Jason," Madison said quietly, looking up at her brother.

He nodded, taking a breath and pausing before answering.

"I want to impress on all of you one last time the seriousness of what you have done," he said sternly. "This isn't a game. You should all know by now that misusing your given powers and abilities can lead to serious injury or—in extreme cases—death. If you don't, then you had better figure it out quick. As rangers, we are trusted with a Power most people will never have the chance to touch. You cannot abuse it or you become just like the people we fight against."

The young rangers, except Xander, nodded. Jason was trusting that his teammates would pass on the message once he could hear them clearly.

"Now, Tommy has determined this issue resolved and closed," Jason continued. "The five of you have made the decision to move past your mistakes and trust him—and the rest of us. As Tommy said, the issue is now closed. None of us will hold it against you any longer, and none of you should bring it up again. As far as we are concerned it's over and done with and we do not need to dwell on it any longer. However…"

He paused again, looking at each of them to make sure they were paying close attention. Xander's hearing appeared to be coming back because he didn't look confused anymore.

"I want this to be very clear," Jason said seriously. "Just because this particular incident is no longer a problem, doesn't mean you have a clean slate. You have been warned. So, if any of you ever pull anything like this again, do not expect the consequences to be so easy to handle. And remember this—Tommy may easily forgive something you have done to him, but if you hurt someone else like that he will be right there with us to deliver whatever punishment we deem fit for the situation. Do you understand?"

"Understood," Nick said firmly, nodding in agreement.

The other four echoed quickly, reaffirming Nick's answer. Satisfied with their answer, Jason took a deep breath and turned to look straight at Xander. His gaze sharpened as he glared at the young green ranger.

"And as for you," he growled. "If I ever hear of you using tactics like that against anyone ever again, you will find yourself cut off from the Morphing Grid and the Power so fast you won't even know what happened. There is never a time where something like that falls under the protection of the Code, no matter who escalates the situation. Understood?"

Xander frowned, confused again.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, clearly not on the same page as Jason.

Jason scowled at him.

"You know full well what I'm talking about," he snapped. "And this goes for all of you—trying to take an opponent down by wrapping something around their neck goes against everything we stand for. That is not and will never be how we work and I never want to see anything like that happen ever again. Got it?"

He was still glaring at Xander who was now stammering, trying to come up with a response. Xander's gaze flickered briefly to Madison, but he didn't say anything.

"Oh," Madison gasped, realizing what Jason was referring to. "Oh no…"

Frowning, he turned to look at her.

"Maddy, what's wrong?" he asked slowly.

She was shaking her head, one hand over her mouth as she struggled against tears.

"It wasn't Xander," she mumbled. "He didn't do it…"

"Didn't do what?" Jason said.

"Oh, honey," Tanya said quietly behind Jason. "Why did it have to be you?"

Jason froze, his head whipping around to look at Tanya in shock. He followed her gaze back to his sister and started shaking his head.

"No," he said in disbelief. "No. You wouldn't."

Eyes filled with tears, Madison looked up at her older brother.

"Jason, I'm sorry," she cried. "I didn't mean to. Everything just happened so fast and—"

"Do you understand what you did?" Jason demanded, breaking out of his moment of shock. "You almost killed him!"

"Jason—" she said.

"I don't want to hear it!" he shouted, clenching his fists. "One wrong move—do you know what could have happened? One wrong move and you could have snapped his neck! There would have been no calling for help, no saving him. And then you chased him through the woods—you hunted him with the intention of hurting him when you caught him!"

"Jason, please," Madison sobbed.

"No!" he snarled. "You have no idea what you've done. You of all people. Tommy would have died before he hurt a hair on your head—and you almost killed him!"

"Jason, stop!" Vida exclaimed. "This isn't nece—"

"Be quiet, Vida," Jason snapped. "I thought you knew better, Madison. But apparently I was wrong."

"Jason," Madison pleaded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen…"

"But you did it, Madison!" he half-shouted. "Do you understand what that means? You almost killed Tommy!"

Madison was sobbing now, shaking her head in guilt as Jason shouted at her.

"Jason, we've all made mistakes," Trini said quietly, laying a hand on her husband's arm.

"Indeed," Udonna said as Vida wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders. "Madison is young and she reacted on instinct. It is against Madison's nature to ever intentionally hurt someone in such a way."

"Udonna is right," Leanbow agreed. "Have none of you ever reacted wrongly or did something you later regretted when you were frightened for yourself or those you care about?"

Jason scowled, but didn't immediately answer.

"What they say is a valid point," Billy said quietly behind him. "We have all made mistakes in our time as rangers. Even you, Jason, cannot say you have never pushed the limits of the Code with your actions."

"Zach snorted.

"Of course he can't," he said. "None of us can, really."

Jason shot a look at Zach.

"What?" Zach said before he could say anything. "You can't. Remember all of the times you went head to head with the green ranger? Or how about nearly killing the punching bag at the gym while imagining Tommy's face on it? Although you didn't actually know it was him at the time so I guess you were just thinking of the person behind the helmet."

"Zach, enough," Jason growled.

"Or we can always use the Muranthias example," Zach continued, ignoring Jason's glare. "When you—"

"I was under a spell!" Jason snapped, dropping his arms. "I had no control over myself or my actions."

"Neither did I," Kim pointed out, crossing her arms. "But I managed to break out of it. You, on the other hand, nearly dropped yourself and Tommy into a lava pit before anyone could get through to you."

Vida and Madison both looked at their brother in surprise, the latter still trying to get her tears under control.

"You almost killed Tommy?" Vida said in disbelief, a touch of accusation in her voice.

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face as he shot another glare at Zach and Kim.

"More times than any of us really care to remember," Zach answered, shaking his head. "And Tommy tried just as hard to kill him, too—at least for those first few months. Kind of hard to imagine, isn't it?"

They nodded, still staring at Jason. Madison was still sniffling and shaking a little, but she wasn't sobbing anymore.

"So don't let him make you feel too guilty," Zach continued. "I mean, it is kind of a family thing now. You know, going for the throat?"

Putting his hands up to his own neck in demonstration, Zach made choking noises. The young rangers now stared at him in confusion as Jason rounded on him.

"Knock it off!" he growled.

Zach quickly dropped his hands, scooting away from the irritated red ranger.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Vida frowned.

"That Maddy isn't the first one to try and strangle Tommy," Zach said, ducking behind Trini as Jason grabbed for him. "I wasn't there, but I heard all about it. Tommy had bruises around his neck for weeks—even with the new morpher."

Rocky snickered, nodding.

"You should have seen him scrambling to come up with a way to explain them to his mother," he said. "I don't remember what he came up with, but she was not happy about it."

"It was something to do with the seatbelt of his car, I think," Tanya said. "Though we're pretty sure she never really believed him. She just couldn't prove anything else. But that just meant she was even more paranoid—at least until he left for college."

"And then we started a whole new issue," Zach muttered.

"Shut up, Zach," Jason growled, trying to grab him again.

Zach dodged away, but fell silent.

"The point is, girls," Trini interrupted, returning the focus to the young rangers. "That we did a lot more damage to each other than you ever did. Looking back, sometimes I think we spent almost as much time fighting against each other because of one spell or another as we did fighting the bad guys."

"It was part of our struggle," Kim said, smiling faintly. "Seeing just how far we would go to stop the villains—even if it cost one of our own…"

She trailed off as her teammates nodded in agreement.

"So you tried to kill someone, too?" Madison asked in surprise, looking at Trini.

"Girl, we all tried to kill each other," Aisha laughed, shaking her head. "Or at least most of us. The only ones who weren't evil at all, even for just a few minutes, were myself and Justin. Everyone else had their turn."

They young Mystic Force rangers exchanged surprised looks.

"And we thought we had it bad," Xander commented, glancing over his shoulder at Leanbow. "At least we knew who to watch out for."

"True," Adam said, nodding. "There were days where we weren't sure who might have gotten caught up in the next plot to take over the world. That led to a lot of close calls."

The others exchanged looks, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"Though the only ones who truly came close to dying were Jason, Tommy, and Kim," Tanya added. "Unless you count the day that ship nearly blew up with us on it…"

Adam and Kat both grimaced. Adam because of the memory of watching the ship blow up and thinking his friends were still on it. Kat, on the other hand, looked at Kim with a guilty expression.

"I am still so sorry about that," she said apologetically.

Kim smiled, shaking her head.

"Kat, you're fine," she said. "It wasn't your fault. Really. I don't hold that against you anymore than Tommy or Jason hold anything against each other. It happened, but we're well past that."

Kat smiled back, grateful for the reassurance. Madison, on the other hand, had turned back to Jason. He'd been silent for a few minutes now as the others spoke.

"Jason, I really am sorry…" she mumbled, dropping her gaze to the ground. "I never meant to hurt him…But when I saw him hit Nick I—I just reacted…I'm so sorry…"

Jason sighed and took a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his head.

"It's alright, Maddy," he said after a moment. "Much as I hate to admit it, they're right. And I know you never meant to hurt Tommy."

She looked up at him.

"The problem is," he said. "Is that I've always been the one protecting him—and everyone else—through everything. It was always my responsibility to make sure they were safe, even after I left, and I have worked harder than you know over the years to make sure they all stayed safe. And the thought that you, of all people, came that close to being the reason I failed…"

He trailed off, shaking his head.

"It's alright, big brother," Vida said. "You would do the same for us. Though I guess you have been all along. We just didn't realize it…"

He smiled faintly, nodding.

"So, if you're still not really mad at us," Chip said, looking at Jason. "I have a question."

Jason turned to look at the yellow ranger, raising an eyebrow..

"What's your question, kid?" he asked.

Chip hesitated for a moment and then took a deep breath, plowing forward.

"I know it was important from the way everyone reacted," he said. "But what was the big deal with the green coin? Could it really have killed Tommy?"

The mood turned somber again as Jason studied the young ranger.

"Yes," he said after a moment. "There's a reason he's never entrusted that coin willingly to anyone outside of a select few rangers—and Hayley. It's not that he doesn't trust all of us, but whoever has possession of that coin is literally holding his life in their hands. Ever since high school he doesn't like not knowing where it is or who has it."

"But how could something like that kill him?" Nick asked, frowning.

"That coin holds all that is left of the green ranger powers," Jason explained. "And those powers, due to circumstances beyond any of our control, are now tied directly to Tommy's lifeforce. That means any time he uses that coin he uses his own energy."

"So if we were to drain it like he said…" Vida said slowly.

"It would completely drain his lifeforce and kill him," Jason said grimly.

"Then why would he ever use it?" Madison exclaimed in horror.

Jason sighed.

"He doesn't usually," he said. "But he is able to use it in short bursts. The problem is that the power drains faster than it can recover. Even just using that power for a couple of hours can mean months of recovery for him. It's not something we take lightly."

Behind Mystic Force, their mentors were exchanging glances.

"It truly was a test, then," Leanbow said, looking to his students. "One that, had you failed, would have held serious consequences."

They nodded, still all a little surprised just how easily they could have hurt Tommy.

"But why would he trust us with that kind of decision after what we did to him?" Nick asked in disbelief. "I mean—I almost…"

He trailed off, shaking his head.

"Now you understand why we were all so worried," Kat said. "Us and Dino Thunder. They may have hid it a little better, but if you had hurt Tommy they would have retaliated in any way they could have without breaking their word to him."

"And the rest of us, not to mention a large portion of the rest of the ranger network, would have been right behind them," Jason stated. "So keep that in mind going forward. As rangers, you are part of a growing network of people whose purpose is to protect others. And, while citizens and the innocent will always come first, we will always protect our own at any cost to ourselves. Just ask Tommy."

"I will never do anything like I did ever again, Jason," Madison said. "I promise."

He smiled, nodding.

"I know," he said. "Just—"

He was interrupted by a small flash of light that made all the originals jump because it wasn't a teleporter flash like the one that accompanied the Space Rangers. A few of them jerked hands toward morphers out of instinct but they stopped themselves. A young woman was now standing with the Mystic Force team, wringing her hands as she looked at Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron.

"Clare?" Udonna said in surprise. "Why have you come?"

"I'm so sorry, Udonna," Clare exclaimed. "I know you said you were going to be busy but—well, I have a bit of a problem…"

Udonna glanced to Jason for a moment, but he just waited with his arms crossed. He knew who Clare was, so he wasn't too concerned. Turning her attention back to Clare, Udonna waited for an explanation.

"Come, child," she said reassuringly. "What has happened?"

"Well…" Clare said hesitantly. "I may have accidentally released something from Rootcore that probably shouldn't have been let out…"

"What did you release?" Daggeron frowned.

"I'm not exactly sure," she mumbled. "But it was some kind of beast and it's huge and scary and it's terrorizing one of the villages… And I can't stop it on my own…"

Leanbow, Daggeron, and Udonna exchanged looks.

"I really didn't mean to let it out," Clare quickly added. "I was looking for something in the cupboard and I didn't realize the box was spelled shut so I opened it and it got out and I'm sorry but I need help getting it back in the box…"

Several of the originals snickered, shaking their heads. Clare spun in surprise, not having realized there were more people standing there.

"Oh," she said, seeing Jason watching her. "Umm… Hi."

"Hi," he said in response.

"Jason, right?" she said nervously. "So, where's your friend today?"

"Tommy?" Jason frowned. "He's at home. Probably sleeping."

Her eyes widened as she glanced around in the bright sunlight.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "He's not still having trouble with that spell, is he?"

Jason shook his head, scowling at her now.

"Not anymore," he said shortly.

Clare breathed a sigh of relief, though she did still look nervous with Jason watching her.

"That's good," she said. "Because Mystic Mother didn't say anything about that when she spoke to me about it. She said she could sense my magic around him, but she never said anything about it being actively affecting him."

"What?" Jason said, not sure what she was talking about.

"Mystic Mother asked about my spell," Clare said hesitantly. "She just wanted to know what I had done. But she told me she fixed everything when she visited him just after Christmas."

"Visited Tommy?" Jason frowned. "Just who is she and why would she be visiting him?"

Clare hesitated again, not sure how to answer.

"You would know her as Rita," Udonna clarified. "She is the source of Mystic Force's magic."

There was a brief moment of silence as all of the originals processed what Udonna had just said. Then there was a loud and sudden uproar as all of them started demanding to know what was going on. Clare froze, not knowing what to do. Jason, trying to be heard over the rest of the rangers, finally got fed up with the noise.

"Enough!" he roared, rounding on his friends and teammates. "Everyone stop talking so I can find out what's going on!"

As everyone fell silent, he spun back to look at Clare.

"I need to know what is going on right now," he snapped, taking a step forward with his gaze fixed on Clare. "What happened?"

Squeaking in fright, she ducked behind Daggeron.

"I don't know," she stammered, poking her head back out. "All I know is she went to visit him not long after Christmas because there was something she needed to do… She only asked about my spell because she felt it when she cast hers and—"

"She did what?" Jason snarled. "What kind of spell?"

"I don't know!" she cried, shaking her head. "Mystic Mother didn't explain everything to me. She said she had something to say to her green ranger…"

"And he said nothing," Jason hissed, shaking his head and spinning back to the other rangers.

They were all tense and waiting, ready to move the moment he said something.

"Let's move," Jason ordered. "The tunnels back to the house. Come on."

Without saying another word to any of Mystic Force, Jason took off toward the forest with the rest of the rangers following. For a moment they just watched the originals go.

"Umm… Where are they going?" Chip finally said as the other rangers disappeared into the trees.

Madison and Vida exchanged looks. They knew that look, no matter what the actual cause was.

"To kill Tommy," they sighed.

"We'd better go after him," Madison said, glancing at her teammates. "I don't think he's thinking clearly right now… I may not know what the problem is exactly, but he is not happy…"

Vida nodded in agreement.

"But what about the thing Clare let out," Xander pointed out. "We can't just let it terrorize the village."

Nick frowned, glancing between Clare and the woods where the rangers had disappeared. He wanted to follow after the rangers like Madison and Vida said, but at the same time he couldn't just let the beast issue go.

"Go after them, Bowen," Leanbow said, catching his son's look. "Daggeron and I will handle the beast. If we need you we will call you."

"Alright," Nick nodded. "Guys, let's go."

He jerked his head toward the trees. Following the lead of their red, the rest of the young Mystic Force rangers took off after him. Their mentors, on the other hand, went with Clare to deal with whatever she had unintentionally set loose in the magical realm.


	49. Chapter 49

The race back to Tommy's house took less time than their walk out to the museum to meet Mystic Force. With Jason still in the lead, all ten of the rangers hurried up from the lab into the actual house. But Jason was the only one who continued up the stairs. Heading straight for Tommy's room, the angry red ranger swung the door open and stalked toward the bed. Without hesitation, he jerked the covers off of the sleeping ranger and yanked Tommy out of bed.

"Wha'?" Tommy mumbled, stumbling on his feet. "Jase? What happened? 's everything alright?"

Hayley, who had been asleep before Jason burst into the room, had jerked upright when Jason yanked the blanket back. She was now staring at him in confusion.

"Jason, what are you doing?" she demanded, stifling a yawn as he dragged her husband out of the room. "Jason!"

But Jason didn't stop, towing the protesting and half-asleep Tommy after him down the stairs. The rest of the rangers were waiting impatiently, crowded into the hallway. They had also been joined by the Dino Thunder rangers who were watching the group in confusion. Conner and Kira were each holding one of the babies, resolutely refusing to hand them over to any of the originals until they knew what was going on.

"Jason, have you lost your mind?" Tommy exclaimed, trying to free himself from his friend's grasp. "What are you doing?"

"Let him go!" Hayley demanded, hurrying down after them. "I told you that you could use the lab, not invade my house!"

Jason ignored both of them, continuing to pull Tommy after him toward the lab as the other ranger protested. The rest of the originals followed them down, the Dino Thunder rangers trailing after in confusion.

"Come on, bro," Tommy said. "What is going on? Would you please answer me?"

Jason still didn't answer, towing Tommy straight over to the computers and shoving him into one of the chairs by the medical equipment. Tommy tried to stand back up, but Jason pushed him back down. Rocky and Zach moved over to help Jason strap him in to keep Tommy from getting up again. Aisha, Kat, and Kim were stopping a fuming Hayley from interfering.

"Jason, knock it off!" Tommy snapped, turning to Trini. "Trini, did he hit his head or something?"

"Don't even start with me," she snapped back, crossing her arms as she glared at him.

Tommy looked at her in surprise, finally glancing at the other rangers. All of them were clearly upset, and it all appeared to be directed toward him.

"Ok, seriously," he said, looking around. "What is going on?"

"Just stay there," Jason growled. "Ethan, scan him."

Ethan's eyes widened in surprise as everyone turned to look at him. Frozen in place, he glanced quickly between Tommy, Jason, Hayley, and the original rangers.

"Uh—what?" he stammered.

"Scan him," Jason snapped again.

"Jason, what is going—" Ethan started to ask, still hesitating.

"Fine," Jason interrupted. "Billy?"

Billy didn't hesitate. Stepping over to the computer, his fingers started flying over the keyboard as he started up the scanner.

"Jason, I swear if you don't tell me what is going on right now I will lock us all in this lab and no one will leave until I have the answers I want," Hayley snapped. "Now explain!"

Jason whipped around to look at her.

"I don't owe you any explanation," he countered. "At least not until you give me one."

He glared at Tommy again as he spoke. Tommy sighed.

"Alright, Jase," he said. "I'm sorry, ok? I admit it. I called your mother and told her about the babies before I told you I was back…"

Jason paused, frowning.

"That's not—you know what? We'll talk about that later," he said, shaking his head. "She's not even your mother!"

He took a deep breath, still scowling at Tommy.

"But that's not what I was talking about," he growled.

Tommy groaned.

"Jason, would you please just tell me what's going on?" he asked. "I was finally sleeping and then you drag me out of my bed. And why did you leave your sisters wandering around in the woods?"

"I left them at the museum," Jason answered shortly.

Tommy shook his head slowly, looking at something behind Jason.

"Doesn't look like it," he said.

Jason just crossed his arms, not taking his eyes off of Tommy.

"Jason, it would appear he is correct," Billy said, looking at the same place as Tommy. "It seems they are indeed wandering in the woods."

Turning his head, Jason caught sight of his sisters and their teammates on one of the security cameras. They were wandering around, looking confused as they searched for something. He took a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I'll deal with them later," he muttered. "This is more important right now."

"Ummm… Jason?" Ethan said hesitantly. "You might not want to do that…"

"What?" Jason asked shortly.

"Because we let the raptors out," Conner answered.

"They needed exercise," Kira added. "And they don't like strangers…"

"Plus, Conner may have shown them a few pictures of some of them in an attempt to teach Spot to headbutt Nick…" Trent said.

Jason groaned, but didn't move.

"Alright," he snapped. "Would someone please go get them? I am not leaving right now."

"No one is leaving!" Hayley half shouted, glaring daggers at Jason. "Not until I know why you felt the need to wake us up and drag Tommy out of bed and strap him into the scanner."

"Because I know about Rita, that's why!" Jason snarled, clenching his fists.

Tommy grimaced and Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Thank you," she said shortly. "That's all I needed to know."

"Why didn't you tell anyone, Tommy?" Jason demanded, crossing his arms again. "That kind of thing shouldn't be a secret."

"But I did—" Tommy started to protest, glancing toward the younger Dino Thunder rangers.

He cut off, deciding against what he'd been about to say. But it was too late. Jason's eyes narrowed as he turned to look at the four rangers. They looked at him nervously.

"You four knew?" he said slowly.

"I'm gonna go get your sisters," Ethan said quickly, not answering the question as he scooted for the door to the tunnels.

"And I'm going with him," Trent said, bolting after him.

Kira and Conner, each still holding a baby, exchanged looks.

"Ummm… It's diaper change time," Conner said, backing toward the stairs.

"Same for me," Kira added.

They bolted for the stairs, disappearing up into the house.

"Traitors!" Tommy shouted after the four, slumping back into the chair.

"Well now," Hayley said, yawning. "Now that I know what's going on, I'm going to bed."

"Hayley!" Tommy exclaimed. "You should be helping me."

"You're the one who decided not to tell them," she said, shaking her head as she turned back toward the stairs. "Now you get to deal with the consequences. Come join me when you're done."

Tommy groaned and let his head fall back against the chair as his wife disappeared up the stairs.

"Great," he muttered. "Just great."

For a moment, no one said anything. Tommy sighed, muttering under his breath.

"Tommy, why didn't you just tell us?" Kim asked.

"Because you didn't need to know," he said shortly. "Everything is under control. I'm fine. All of this is completely unnecessary."

Jason scoffed.

"If everything was fine you wouldn't have felt the need to hide it from us," he retorted. "This is serious, Tommy."

Tommy closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. He was already tired and this wasn't helping his level of irritation.

"I am aware of the situation, Jason," he said irritably. "I was there when it happened. And I'm telling you, I'm fine. Now please let me out of this chair so I can go back to bed."

"Not until the scan is done," Jason growled, crossing his arms.

Tommy groaned, turning to the other rangers.

"Guys, come on," he pleaded. "Would someone just let me out? I promise this isn't necessary."

But they all shook their heads.

"Sorry, man," Rocky said. "But we're with Jason on this one. Rita's done too much damage to take a chance on it."

"Fine," Tommy muttered. "Then someone wake me up when you're done so I can go back to my bed."

Closing his eyes again, he leaned his head back against the chair. But it wasn't long before the sound of the tunnel door opening drew all of their attention. Trent and Ethan walked back in, followed by the five Mystic Force rangers.

"This is awesome!" Chip exclaimed in excitement. "Is this really your lair?"

"You bet," Ethan grinned. "New and improved, of course. Dr. O finished repairs end of last summer. Took a while to reinforce some of the tunnels."

"Repairs?" Nick said, frowning.

"One of our enemies, Zeltrax, blew it up," Trent answered with a shrug.

Catching sight of what was going on in the lab, Mystic Force stopped in surprise. Madison and Vida exchanged looks.

"What are you doing, big brother?" Vida asked, crossing her arms. "You yelled at us for hurting him and now you have Tommy strapped to a chair."

"If he'd stay put on his own I wouldn't have to strap him in," Jason countered.

Vida rolled her eyes.

"The scan is complete, Jason," Billy said quietly. "Though it will be several minutes before we have the results."

Jason turned to him, nodding.

"Thanks, Billy," he said.

"Does that mean I can go now?" Tommy asked, opening his eyes to look at Jason.

"Are you going to take off?" Jason asked suspiciously.

Now Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Jase, I just want to go to bed," he said shortly. "Now either let me out of this chair or shut up so I can sleep."

Jason scowled at him, but didn't move to let Tommy out of the straps.

"Well, if he's not going to let you out then I will," Madison said boldly, ducking around the other rangers. "I don't know what's going on, but I don't care. I didn't stop it the last time and I'm not letting it go again."

Before Jason could stop her, Madison released Tommy from the chair. He quickly stood, moving away from the chair as he rubbed his wrists.

"And now I'm going to bed," he announced, stalking away from his friends. "You guys can let yourselves out when you're done."

Jason leapt after him.

"I don't think so, bro," he said, catching Tommy's arm. "You aren't going anywhere until we see what's going on."

"Jason, let go," Tommy snapped, yanking his arm away. "I'm not doing this right now."

He stormed up the stairs with Jason on his heels and Rocky, Zach, and Adam hurrying after. Trent and Ethan followed, too, with Mystic Force behind them. The women stayed with Billy, having a good guess of where the argument would end up and more concerned with the scan results than1 listening to the two men argue. All five of them trusted Jason to keep Tommy from going far.

"We wouldn't have to do this if you had told us about this months ago!" Jason snapped back as they emerged in the office.

"You didn't need to know!" Tommy exclaimed, stopping and spinning to face Jason again. "I had, and have, everything under control."

"I've heard that before," Jason scoffed, glowering at the other ranger. "And we all know how that went."

Tommy's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, we do," he said shortly. "But this isn't then. I know what I'm doing."

He spun, stalking away toward the stairs. But Jason jumped in the way, blocking him from going up to his room. Irritated, Tommy spun and headed toward the backdoor instead.

"You still shouldn't be keeping things from us," Jason argued, continuing to follow him. "Not things like this."

Tommy groaned.

"I already told you, you didn't need to know!" he exclaimed, pushing the door open and stalking out of the house.

"And what if something had happened?" Jason demanded. "We still don't know what she did to you!"

"Because it doesn't matter!" Tommy snapped, spinning to look at Jason again as the group following them spilled out into the yard. "Jason, you aren't the only one watching my back anymore. The kids were watching just in case. You had enough on your plate and I wasn't adding to your stress."

"No, you'll just save it for later," Jason scowled. "We had a right to know when it happened—not six months later!"

Everyone who had followed the pair was watching in silence, not really wanting to interfere in the argument. Zach, Rocky, and Adam because they had all seen the pair get into fights before. Trent and Ethan because they weren't about to get in their mentor's way when he was this angry. And Mystic Force because they really weren't sure what the problem was and they didn't want the focus back on them.

"We aren't in high school anymore, Jason!" Tommy shouted, clenching his fists. "I don't need you constantly hovering and trying to take care of me. The kids are perfectly capable of handling any problem that arises—not to mention that I can take care of myself! I am an adult, you know."

Jason took a step closer, getting in Tommy's face now.

"You are the one who made us promise!" he snarled, jabbing a finger at Tommy. "You are the one who insisted every single one of us swear that, should anyone ever take you under their control again, that we wouldn't hesitate. So that means you have no right to keep these kinds of situations from us!"

"It's my life, Jason!" Tommy countered, not backing down. "I had a backup plan and that's all you need to know."

"And if something had happened?" Jason snapped. "What did you think would happen, Tommy? It would have killed all of us to have to take you down. If you had told us from the beginning we could have helped make sure it never reached that point!"

"Agh!" Tommy exclaimed. "You aren't listening! I had help. It just wasn't you. Anton knew what to watch for and had the kids on speed dial. All four of them were ready to intervene if they needed to—up to and including calling you if it really reached that point. Jason, you had enough on your plate with your sisters and everything going on with them. I had everything under control."

"Then why did you run?" Jason growled, jabbing a finger at Tommy again. "You ran, Tommy. Without warning. Without explanation. You were just gone!"

He connected with Tommy's shoulder this time as he tried to emphasize his point. Tommy's eyes narrowed in response.

"Because I didn't want to put any of you through that panic!" Tommy shouted, shoving Jason back with one hand. "Is that what you want to hear? I was scared that something had happened and I didn't want to scare any of you until I knew what was going on. I've been in that position too many times to want to put any of you in it again."

"That's not just your decision!" Jason shouted back. "You made us swear—so don't keep us in the dark!"

They were shoving each other back and forth now as they shouted, their argument escalating quickly. And then, without any of the others really knowing who started it, Tommy and Jason had moved past shoving to actual fighting. Not pulling any punches, they were going all out as they wrestled and fought with each other, though they were no longer shouting.

"Oh, good," Zach muttered, watching them. "So they're going to kill each other and we'll have run the scan for no reason."

"Nah," Ethan said, shaking his head. "They won't kill each other. Bruise, injure, maim? Probably. Kill? Not likely."

Zach and Rocky both snorted, shaking their heads as they continued to watch the sparring match. Mystic Force, on the other hand, were all staring in shock. Even Vida and Madison, who had grown up watching the pair spar with each other, had never seen them going at it like this. Both men were using everything they had against the other. Evenly matched, neither seemed to be getting the upper hand in the fight.

"You really weren't kidding," Nick said to the girls, not taking his eyes off of the fight. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone fight like them."

"Not even your dad and Daggeron," Xander agreed.

Madison and Vida nodded mutely.

"They don't fight like this very often," Adam commented quietly. "It's dangerous to go all out like this. If they weren't so evenly matched one of them could get seriously hurt doing this."

"They won't hurt each other, will they?" Madison asked nervously, concern written all over her face.

Zach immediately started shaking his head.

"Not a chance," he said. "They've fought together too long to do that. And neither one of them has the advantage anymore. Unless they tap into ranger powers. But Jason doesn't really have any special abilities and Tommy's too tired so I think we're ok."

"Worst that happens is Tommy streaks out of Jason's reach and Jason falls on his face," Rocky snorted. "He definitely doesn't have the energy for anything else right now."

Mystic Force exchanged confused looks, but didn't press the issue as they continued watching Tommy and Jason. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the impromptu sparring match ended in a short wrestling match on the ground. Finally both men fell back in the grass, panting as they stared up at the sky.

"You're an idiot, Jase," Tommy muttered, eyes closed.

"You're not any better," Jason retorted. "You can't do things like this to us. You're going to give us all heart attacks."

Tommy snorted. Anger and frustration spent, he was concentrating on catching his breath.

"And when did you learn that kick?" Jason asked, wincing as he shifted, half sitting up. "That's going to bruise…"

He was gingerly touching a spot on his leg. Tommy chuckled.

"Learned it years ago, bro," he said. "Just haven't had a reason to use it on you. The Tyrannodrones on the other hand—they were always fair game."

Ethan and Trent shook their heads, smirking. The back door of the house opened and Trini came walking out. Seeing her husband and his best friend lying in the grass, she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"If you two Neanderthals are done beating on each other," she said, crossing her arms. "The scan results are done, Jason."

He immediately sat the rest of the way up, wincing a little as he moved.

"Definitely going to have bruises," he muttered, climbing to his feet.

Brushing the dirt and grass off of himself, he looked down at Tommy expectantly.

"Are you going to stay there all day?" he asked.

"I might," Tommy mumbled.

Jason snorted, shaking his head.

"Come on, bro," he said, leaning over and holding out a hand. "I want to see those scans."

Tommy sighed, opening his eyes.

"Don't suppose I have a choice, do I?" he asked.

"Nope," Jason answered. "Either come back down with me or I'm sending Kim back out here to get you."

Grimacing, Tommy took Jason's hand. Jason laughed as he hauled Tommy up.

"I don't want to know what she'd do to me right now," Tommy grumbled. "Cause I know she has the energy to use her ninja training. I wouldn't know what hit me…"

With Jason and some of the others still laughing, they all started heading back into the house.

"You're problem, Falcon," Jason smirked. "You know how she is."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tommy muttered. "Shut up, Rex."

Madison and Vida exchanged surprised looks.

"Rex?" said Vida.

"Falcon?" said Madison.

"Yes?" Tommy and Jason said, pausing to look back at the girls.

The twins groaned.

"How stupid can we be?" Vida muttered. "How did we miss that?"

"Miss what?" Jason frowned, pulling open the door.

"The names," Madison said. "We should have caught those ages ago. It's not like this is the first time we heard them…"

Tommy chuckled, shaking his head as they all moved inside.

"Maybe not," he said. "But we've always been careful not to use those nicknames around anything power ranger related—or too often in general with non rangers. Besides, you can't feel too bad."

"We missed an obvious clue," Vida pointed out.

"Maybe," Zach said. "But would you ever have pegged your big brother and his best friend as rangers without them telling you?"

The girls looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"Not a chance," they answered.

"Oh, thanks," Jason grumbled.

"Sorry, big brother," Vida grinned as the group moved down the stairs of the lab. "But I never would have thought you could pull it off."

Madison nodded.

"Though, looking back," she said thoughtfully. "You both left so many obvious hints… You weren't really trying to hide it, were you?"

Jason and Tommy both smirked, exchanging looks.

"Nope," Tommy said. "We were actually hoping you'd figure it out on your own so we wouldn't have to tell you."

"Would have made our lives so much easier," Jason muttered.

"But we didn't figure it out…" Chip said sheepishly.

Jason snorted.

"No kidding," he said drily. "Even with the four of them doing just about everything short of using their abilities."

He jerked his head toward Trent and Ethan. The boys just grinned.

"Yeah, we weren't exactly being subtle," Ethan said. "I mean, come on. We even told you we were going to visit the other power rangers so Trent could get their favorite battles for his comic series."

"Not to mention talking about reds," Trent pointed out. "And the whole debate with Conner over having proven ourselves."

"Wait a minute," Chip said suddenly, glancing at Tommy. "Is that why you wouldn't show us the picture?"

Tommy frowned for a moment and then realized what the yellow ranger was talking about.

"Oh, right," he said. "Partially. We still hadn't reached the point at which we were going to straight out tell you who we were. Had you figured it out on your own, we would have explained everything then and there. However, showing you the picture would have given too much away. It's not supposed to be that easy, after all."

The rangers nodded in understanding as they headed through Tommy's office, opening the door to the lab.

"But how did all of you know so much about us, then?" Nick asked, glancing around. "Does everyone know who we are?"

The rangers laughed, nodding.

"Kid, we've known who you were since Jason came back the first time," Zach said. "Same thing happens every time there is a new ranger team confirmed."

"Which is what?" Xander asked.

"Jason or Tommy—depending on who has the time—makes the final confirmation based on observations of others," Adam explained. "Once identities have been confirmed, they pull together basic bios on the rangers and send them out to the network. It keeps us all on the same page."

"And from putting ourselves in a situation we don't want to be in," Rocky added. "Kind of like Jason and Tommy."

He grinned as he shot a look at them. They both glowered back, but he just laughed. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they all crowded into the lab. The rest of the women were waiting for them along with Billy.

"And this time we had really entertaining pictures for most of you," Ethan grinned, glancing at the Mystic Force rangers. "It helps when the red in charge has access to any and all childhood photos of a majority of the team. The only one with a basic head shot was Nick."

Madison and Vida whipped around to look at Jason in surprise.

"Jason!" they exclaimed.

He just smirked and shrugged.

"Don't worry," Tommy said. "We have better pictures of Nick now. I updated his a while ago. Just like I update the rest of them periodically to keep photos up-to-date."

"I've gotta see this!" Ethan exclaimed with a grin, heading for the computer.

That brought Jason back around to what they were doing down in the lab.

"Don't touch that computer, Ethan," Jason snapped, stopping the blue ranger in his tracks. "Not until we're done with it. Billy, bring up the scan."

Nodding, Billy turned back to the computer and pulled up the scan image on his computer. Jason studied it for a moment, frowning. The rest of the originals were looking at it, too, all of them looking a little confused.

"Well, it looks the same as it did at Rootcore," Nick commented, breaking the silence. "Green, white, red, black."

Jason started shaking his head.

"It's not the same," he said slowly. "Something is—not wrong, but it's too…It's too—too normal."

Tommy raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he leaned against the column behind him.

"Thanks, Rex," he said drily.

"That's not what I mean," Jason said. "It's just that the last time I saw a scan of your core—not counting the one the kids forced from you—it was a lot more chaotic…"

"I told you I had everything under control," Tommy said. "So see? I'm fine."

Jason glared at him.

"I'm not going to believe that until Billy says you're fine," he growled. "I've heard those words from you way too many times to just take your word for it."

Behind him Billy sighed and turned away from the computer.

"He's fine, Jason," he said.

Jason frowned, but didn't argue. Tommy rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. Billy, on the other hand, ignored them both as he continued.

"The scan shows that Tommy's core is actually far more stable than it has been in years," Billy explained. "The bands of color are the result of years of working to be able to center himself in an attempt to contain the dark magic, the source of any chaos or abnormalities within his core."

"But I don't even see the dark magic anymore," Jason said slowly. "Does that mean…"

He trailed off, turning to look at Tommy. But Tommy shook his head.

"It's not gone, Jase," he said quietly. "It will never be completely gone. It's just—contained."

Jason frowned again, looking to Billy for confirmation.

"He is correct," Billy said, nodding. "As we determined many years ago, there is no way—either through magic or science—to disentangle the magic from his life force. To remove the magic is to kill him. There is no way around that fact."

He paused as several of his teammates flinched. There had been too many close calls over the years for their liking.

"Then why can't we see it?" Trini asked. "If it's still there, why isn't it visible?"

"It's there," Tommy said. "Hayley already proved that. It's in the center, there."

He pointed to a small spot of darker green in the very center of his core.

"But it's contained," he said. "Completely and entirely contained and beyond my reach."

That caught all of their attention and everyone turned to look at him. The only ones who didn't seem surprised by the statement were Ethan and Trent, but that was because Tommy had already told Dino Thunder everything he and Hayley had discovered.

"You can't touch it?" Kim asked in surprise.

Tommy shook his head.

"No, I can't," he said simply. "I cannot access the power of the green ranger anymore without the coin."

His friends all exchanged surprised looks. They had not been expecting that.

"But if you can't touch the magic anymore," Kat said slowly. "Then does that mean what I hope it does?"

She was looking at him hopefully, as were most of the others now. Tommy smiled faintly, nodding.

"Yes, it does," he said. "I can't touch it anymore, so there is no way for me to become addicted to it ever again."

Smiles broke out all over the room as many of the rangers laughed in relief. Kim threw her arms around Tommy in a tight hug.

"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"Told you I was fine," he grumbled.

But he hugged her back. But, while all of the originals were excited, most of them crowding around Tommy in celebration, the Mystic Force rangers were exchanging confused looks.

"Wait a minute," Nick said after a few moments. "I don't understand."

"Don't understand what, rookie?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow as he turned to look at him.

"How could he have been addicted to magic?" Nick asked. "It's not possible."

Now everyone was looking at the young team, most of them with irritated yet amused looks on their faces.

"Oh, it's possible," Jason said, crossing his arms.

"But how?" Vida asked, frowning. "We're around magic all the time now and we've never heard of anyone having that problem."

Tommy sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"It's possible," he said quietly. "As I well know. It's something I've struggled with for years."

The young rangers turned their attention to Tommy, not sure what to think.

"What do you mean?" Madison asked hesitantly.

"Let me put it this way," he said. "You guys use magic every day, right?"

Mystic Force exchanged looks, and then nodded as they turned back.

"Yes," Vida said.

"And could you ever imagine being told you couldn't use it again?" he asked. "Having someone tell you that you weren't allowed to use magic?"

They all shook their heads.

"No, of course not," Xander said. "That's why all of us are still training. It's part of who we are."

"Exactly," Tommy said. "And there's nothing wrong with that. I felt the same way except—well, my magic was killing me…"

They gasped as the originals winced. Even Trent and Ethan exchanged uncomfortable looks. They hadn't been there when it had happened, but both boys knew they wouldn't be where they were without Tommy.

"It was killing you?" Madison stammered. "But—how?"

Tommy took a deep breath.

"The power of the green ranger was once tied to a powerful source of magic," he explained. "But, after the Green Candle stole most of the coin's power, that tie was broken."

Jason flinched, guilt flashing across his face. Giving him a knowing look, Trini sidled up to her husband and slipped an arm through his, leaning against him for comfort.

"I gave up the coin for a time," Tommy continued. "But then took it back up again to help my friends. Eventually the power drained completely, nearly killing me in the process. After that is when I was given the power of the white ranger—and we discovered that we had inadvertently tied the power of the green coin directly to my life force."

"How is that even possible?" Chip asked, frowning.

Tommy shrugged, shaking his head.

"We aren't entirely sure," he said. "But it happened when our mentor, Zordan, recharged the coin. And there is no way to reverse it. But the point is, the coin did not die as we thought it had. The power recharged, slowly, over time, and after a while I could feel it again. And I wanted to use it…"

"But if it was tied to your life force," Nick said slowly.

Tommy nodded.

"That was the problem," he said. "However, with Zordon's help I learned to contain the magic in the center of my core and, with the power of other ranger abilities, I was able to keep it under control and it had no ill effect on me. Until I gave up the Turbo Powers to TJ and retired as a ranger…"

He paused, trying to decide what to say next.

"Not long after I gave up the powers, I was in a bad racing accident," he continued after a moment.

"I remember that," Vida said, shooting a glance at her sister. "We visited you in the hospital."

Madison nodded in agreement as Tommy smiled faintly at them.

"Yes, you did," he said. "But what you didn't know is that as soon as the hospital released me I started carrying a morpher again for a while. Just to make sure I could still start college on time. And I did. And the first few months were fine. Until the green magic, which had long lain dormant, started waking up again now that I no longer had the direct strength of the morphing grid to keep it contained…"

"And if it was waking up again," Xander said slowly.

Tommy nodded.

"I started using it again," he sighed. "Not a lot. Just for little things here and there. Everyday tasks—things the five of you probably wouldn't think about twice these days."

"Probably not," Vida said ruefully, glancing at her teammates. "We do try and only use magic when it's appropriate, but we do take shortcuts sometimes."

They nodded in agreement.

"When Jason and the others found out," Tommy continued, glancing at his friends. "They reminded me I needed to stop and just how dangerous playing with that magic was for me. I promised to stop. And, for a while, I did. But then I broke that promise and everything spiraled out of control…"

"Wait a minute," Madison frowned, glancing at her twin. "But if that was your freshman year in college, wasn't that when…"

She trailed off, looking expectantly at Tommy. He nodded.

"It was," he said. "By the time I was partway through the second semester I was completely addicted. I couldn't not use the magic—and it was killing me a little at a time."

His friends and teammates grimaced at the memory.

"You have to understand," he said. "As I said already, the Power will recharge over time. But it is slow and, because it's tied to my life force, that time just isn't enough. It was draining me faster than it could recharge itself…"

"But mom said you were addicted to painkillers," Vida frowned. "Our mom and yours nearly had a meltdown over that pill bottle that we found in the duffle bag."

Jason snorted, interrupted.

"Like we were going to tell them what was really going on," he said, shaking his head. "They didn't know about us then and don't know about us now. We had to come up with a cover of some kind to explain Tommy's erratic behavior—and why I was suddenly moving in with him. It was Hayley's idea—and the best one we could come up with, so we made it work as best we could."

Tommy nodded, stifling a yawn as he continued to lean against the column. Jason shot a look at him and sighed.

"Tommy, go to bed," he said.

The other ranger looked up in surprise.

"What?" he said.

"Go to bed," Jason repeated. "You were right. You're fine. So go to bed."

Tommy raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"What was that?" he asked.

Jason glared at him.

"Go to bed," he said again.

"The other part, Jase," Tommy said. "What was the other part?"

Jason didn't answer for a moment as Tommy smirked at him.

"You were right," Jason finally grumbled. "You're fine and I'm sorry I dragged you out of bed…"

"Thank you," Tommy said, yawning. "Now don't make a mess in my lab or my house, they're already bad enough. I'm going to bed, you all know the way out."

Turning, Tommy headed toward the stairs.

"I need to find a clean shirt," he muttered to himself, looking down at his shirt. "I don't think I have any…"

But he didn't make it to the stairs because someone was already coming down. Kira and Conner, babies cradled in their arms, came walking into the lab to see what was going on.

"Hey, Dr. O," Conner said. "Everything alright down here? We just wanted to make sure Jason didn't kill you."

Tommy snorted.

"Some help you'd have been," he grumbled. "We've been down here for at least a half an hour. They could have killed me long before now."

Conner shrugged as Kira rolled her eyes.

"We're pretty sure Ethan or Trent would have called us," Kira said drily.

Kim and Kat, seeing the babies with Kira and Conner, immediately started crowding them and cooing over the twin girls.

"Oh!" Madison exclaimed. "They're so cute."

She smiled, looking at Tommy. He smiled back, trying to stifle another yawn as he turned to look at his daughters.

"This is Jacquelyn," Kira said, looking down at the dark-haired baby in her arms. "And Conner has Kimberly."

Kim and Kat were fussing over them now. Frowning, Tommy walked over to take baby Kimberly from Conner before Kim could.

"Nope," he said, holding his daughter close. "You're not allowed to."

Kim looked at him in surprise.

"Tommy!" she exclaimed. "You aren't allowed to tell me 'no' about holding them, too."

"Sure I can," he retorted, rocking Kimberly in his arms. "These ones are mine."

She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"Tommy, that's not fair," she complained. "Besides, didn't you already say godparents have high priority for getting to hold the babies? That's why you wouldn't let us hold Rose."

"Sorry, Kim," Tommy yawned. "You're not her godmother."

"What?" Kim exclaimed in surprise. "What do you mean? She is named after me, after all."

"Hayley got to pick godmothers," Tommy sighed. "And you didn't get picked. And she's not named after you. Kimberly is named after Hayley's grandmother and Jacquelyn is named after my sister."

"Hmph," Kim grumbled, crossing her arms. "Then who are the godmothers?"

"Them," Tommy answered, pointing toward Vida and Madison.

The twins looked back at him in surprise, just as shocked as everyone else to hear that news.

"What?" Kim exclaimed, dropping her arms.

Some of the other girls looked a little put out, too, that they had been passed over.

"Oh," Trini said. "Well that's good, I guess."

She was trying to be happy for the twins, but it wasn't quite working.

"Sorry, Trini," Tommy said, shaking his head. "But there were two of them. If it makes you feel any better, you were Hayley's next choice."

Trini nodded, feeling a little better now.

"But what about me?" Kim demanded. "You've known me just as long as Trini. Would you have picked me if you were making the decision?"

"I got to pick the godfathers," Tommy said, ignoring Kim's question and changing the subject.

She glared at him, muttering to herself.

"Well then when are you going to ask them?" Rocky asked, grinning.

Tommy glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Already did," he said.

Rocky frowned.

"But you didn't ask me," he said. "Wait a minute, please tell me you didn't pick any of them."

He gestured toward Conner, Ethan, and Trent. But all three immediately shook their heads.

"Nope," Conner grumbled. "Not that we didn't try…"

Tommy snorted.

"Graduate college first," he said. "Then I'll think about it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Conner sighed.

Jason smirked.

"Well, if godparents get first shot at holding the new babies," he said, walking over to Tommy. "Then my turn."

Tommy didn't protest as Jason carefully took Kimberly out of his arms.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said, smiling down at the little girl.

"You picked Jason?" Rocky said, sounding a little surprised.

Aisha rolled her eyes.

"Of course I picked Jason," Tommy muttered. "Why does that surprise you?"

Rocky paused for a moment.

"Well, then who is Jacquelyn's godfather?" he asked.

"I am," Adam said, briefly holding up a hand.

"You skipped me?" Rocky exclaimed.

Tommy shrugged.

"Not really," he said. "Billy was my second choice, but he lives off planet now. Zach was perfectly alright with someone else taking the responsibility—"

"I'd much rather just be the fun uncle who spoils them once in a while," Zach agreed, grinning.

"And Adam called me back first," Tommy finished. "So I asked him."

Rocky frowned and Aisha sighed.

"I told you that you should have called him back sooner," she said. "But you were insistent that he'd be sleeping."

"That's because any normal person would have been," Rocky argued.

Aisha raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, honey," she sighed. "Since when has Tommy ever been normal?"

Rocky paused, thinking about that for a moment and then sighed.

"Yeah, you're right," he muttered.

The other rangers laughed. Madison and Vida, however, were still staring at Tommy in shock—not sure whether to believe what he had just said or not. Jason shook his head at them.

"Apparently your godmothers need help wrapping their heads around this," he murmured to Kimberly as he walked over to his sisters. "So you're going to—"

He paused, frowning as he looked at Kimberly and then at his sisters.

"Hey, Tommy?" he said, glancing over his shoulder. "Which one is which baby's godmother?"

"What?" Tommy frowned, looking over. "Oh! Umm…"

He paused, thinking about the question for a moment.

"Madison is Kimberly's," he said after a moment. "And Vida is Jacquelyn's. I think… No, that should be right…"

He frowned again, trailing off. Jason rolled his eyes and carefully handed Kimberly to a still-surprised Madison.

"Here," he said. "Hold your goddaughter. We'll double check with Hayley later to make sure he got it right."

Kira came walking over, too, to let Vida hold Jacquelyn. Tommy was leaning against a column again, fighting to keep his eyes open as he watched his friends holding his daughters. Shaking his head, Jason walked over and put a hand on Tommy's shoulder.

"Tommy, go get some sleep," he said quietly. "We've got this. Your girls are safe with us here to watch them."

For a moment it looked like Tommy was going to refuse, but then he sighed and nodded as he straightened up.

"Alright," he said reluctantly. "Just watch them."

He gestured to the women in general.

"I don't want them corrupting my children with things like the color pink," he finished.

"Now, Tommy," Kat said. "What if they decide they like the color pink?"

He shook his head.

"They are not allowed to make that decision until they are at least five years old," he said.

Kim and Kat exchanged glances.

"So what are you going to dress them in, then?" Kim asked. "Green, white, red, and black?"

"Purple," Tommy countered. "Or orange."

"But those aren't ranger colors," Tanya pointed out.

"Exactly," Tommy retorted.

"Aww… Come on, Tommy," Zach grinned. "Don't you want your girls growing up to carry on your legacy?"

"No!" Tommy exclaimed. "Not a chance. I've tried long enough to get away from it. I don't want them getting pulled in, too."

Most of his friends were snickering, now.

"Good luck with that, man," Rocky laughed. "Especially with your track record."

Tommy scowled at him, but Jason intervened.

"Go to bed, Falcon," he said firmly. "No one is going to make your daughters rangers today. Get some sleep and you can beat Rocky after you wake up."

Relenting, Tommy nodded as he yawned again.

"Just watch them," he muttered to Jason as he turned toward the stairs.

He headed up to the house without another word. Once they heard the trapdoor shut behind Tommy, Jason turned back toward Mystic Force with his arms crossed. Madison and Vida were each cooing over the baby they were holding as the boys stood near them, still a little uncomfortable.

"Well," Nick said slowly, rubbing a hand on the back of his head. "I guess we'll get out of your hair now… We should probably make sure the others have gotten Clare's problem under control…"

"Don't move," Jason snapped.

They all looked at him in surprise, the twins looking up from the babies.

"Jason, what now?" Madison frowned.

"I wasn't going to say anything in front of Tommy," Jason growled. "At least not yet. But I'm not letting any of you leave until we've run scans on all of you—not after you admitted to the source of your power being Rita."

Vida rolled her eyes.

"Jason, nothing is wrong with us," she said. "Mystic Mother would never hurt us."

"Be that as it may," he scowled. "Rita would. Now who is going first?"

He gestured to the chair, looking at them expectantly.

"We don't need scans," Nick said firmly. "If anything was wrong our mentors would have found out long ago. There is nothing wrong."

"Well, forgive us if we aren't ready to believe them," Kim said drily. "They have a connection to Rita, too. So humor us and then we'll all feel better."

"Besides," Zach said, leaning against the tunnel door. "I'd love to see the five of you get past the twelve of us."

The five Mystic Force rangers glanced around the room. While they had been focused on Tommy leaving, the rest of the originals, Ethan, and Trent had all taken a cue from Jason and spread to block the exits. All of them were watching the five newest rangers now, waiting expectantly for them to do something. Kira and Conner walked over to take the babies back from Madison and Vida, moving to stand out of the way.

"And don't think those wands of yours are going to help," Jason said. "There are six rangers in here that will have them out of your hands before you can blink. Now who is going to go first?"

His sisters and their friends scowled at him, but none of them tried to leave.

"No one is leaving until you've all been scanned," he said. "And, since it's summer, most of us have quite a while to wait."

"Alright, Jason," Madison sighed. "I'll go first."

"Maddy, you don't—" Nick started to protest.

She shook her head.

"It's fine, Nick," she said. "We know nothing is wrong, so let them have the scans. It'll make everyone feel better and then we can put this whole big mess behind us."

Walking over to the computer, she took the chair Tommy had occupied not an hour before.

"Alright," she said, taking a deep breath. "Let's get this over with."

Nodding, Jason turned to Billy who began the scan. Once all five Mystic Force rangers had been scanned, the rest of the rangers relaxed. They were still waiting on the results, but those wouldn't take long. Before anyone could try and leave, however, Trini called everyone's attention.

"Alright, guys," she said. "As you all saw, Tommy and Hayley are completely exhausted with the twins and their house is a disaster. Before they wake up, I'd like to help get everything back in order so that they can just relax a bit. That being said…"

She trailed off, looking around the room again. Everyone, including the Mystic Force rangers, was waiting for her to tell them what to do.

"Kat is taking care of laundry," she continued. "But she'll need help sorting and getting it all done. Who do you want to help you, Kat?"

Kat started to point at Madison, but Trini discreetly shook her head and glanced at Jason. Kat paused, studying the young rangers.

"I'll just take him," Kat said, pointing at Xander. "They need supervision right now anyways to make sure they don't take off, so we can just split them up among us."

Xander looked at her in surprise, but stepped hesitantly forward when Trini beckoned.

"Umm… I don't think you want his help…" Madison said slowly.

"And why not?" Kat asked. "He's perfectly capable of at least carrying baskets for me."

"Because the last time we let him touch anyone's laundry he turned it all pink," Nick snorted. "And not just Vida's stuff—we mean everything."

"Oh," Kat said, eying Xander again. "Well—then I'll take Chip instead. You can do laundry correctly, right?"

He nodded and she smiled.

"Then let's go," she said.

She turned and left, Trini shooing Chip after her as he glanced over his shoulder at his teammates. Nick just shrugged, so Chip went along with it and followed Kat to the laundry room. Trini turned back to the rest of the group to start passing out the rest of the assignments.

"Aisha and Tanya," she said. "You two take the kitchen. I'm sure the fridge needs to be cleaned out—as do the dishes…"

The two other yellow rangers nodded and headed toward the kitchen, already discussing the best way to tackle the assignment.

"Adam and Rocky, can you start by emptying all of the trash cans in the house and get it outside?" Trini asked. "Make sure to get the lab, too."

"On it," Adam nodded. "Let's go, Rocky."

The two men headed for the kitchen, planning to start there.

"Ethan," Trini started to say.

"I'll take him," he grinned, pointing at Xander. "We're going to go corral the raptors and feed them before they get too antsy."

Xander paled, but Trini nodded.

"Go ahead," she said.

"Wait, are you talking about those giant creatures in the woods?" Xander exclaimed, eyes wide.

"You bet," Ethan smirked.

Still grinning, Ethan grabbed Xander and towed him after him toward the exit still protesting.

"Ok," Trini said, glancing around at who was left. "Kira and Trent, you're on babysitting duty for now. Try to keep them quiet so Tommy and Hayley can sleep."

Kira and Trent nodded. Conner looked disappointed that he wasn't babysitting, but didn't protest when Trent took baby Jaquelyn. The pair headed upstairs with the babies as Trini continued assigning jobs.

"Kim and Billy," Trini continued. "You're on dusting and sweeping all of the rooms you can."

"They should vacuum, too," Zach suggested.

"Which would wake up Tommy and Hayley," Trini said drily, her hands on her hips. "Which would ruin the entire point of this plan."

"Oh, right," Zach mumbled. "Ignore me. Bad idea."

Rolling her eyes, Trini moved on.

"Now that we've established that noise is a bad thing," she said. "Zach, why don't you take Nick and go catch up on some of the yard work? Rocky and Adam can come help when they're done with the trash."

"I can handle that," Zach grinned. "Let's go, rookie."

Nick took a deep breath, nodding.

"Alright," he said. "Where do we start?"

Zach smiled and started going over what they needed to check on as they headed out the backdoor.

"Now Conner," Trini said. "I need the you to go around the house and put anything that is in the wrong place back where it belongs. I know you can do it quickly and accurately, since you spend so much time here. Make sure you're quiet if you go upstairs."

"Got it, Trini," Conner grinned. "The house'll be clean in no time."

He sped off without another word.

"And I will start picking up down here," Trini said, glancing around the room. "That way the trash will be ready for Adam and Rocky when they come back down. Tommy will have to pick another punishment for Justin whenever he gets back from KO-35."

Jason frowned, glancing around. It was just the four of them—him, Trini, Madison and Vida—and Trini hadn't given them anything to do.

"Trini, you forgot us," he said, looking at her expectantly.

"Oh, right," she said. "The three of you shoo—go outside. I want you out of my way."

"What?" Jason said.

"Go," she repeated. "You'll just be in the way here, so outside the three of you go."

Jason glowered at her, but she just raised an eyebrow and nodded toward his sisters. Sighing, he relented.

"Alright," he muttered. "Come on."

Looking at his sisters, he jerked his head toward the stairs. Glancing at each other, they reluctantly followed him down the hall and out of the house. Nodding in satisfaction, Trini went to find trash bags and a broom. Outside, Jason walked a few yards from the house before stopping and the girls followed. On the far side of the yard they could see Zach and Nick pulling a few things out of the shed. For a few moments, none of them said anything. Vida was pointedly looking at anything but her brother, while Madison couldn't take her eyes off of him. Biting her lip, she kept acting as though she was going to say something but couldn't figure out what. Jason stood with his arms crossed, staring off toward the trees.

"We're sorry!" Madison finally burst out, starting to cry again as she threw her arms around her brother.

Jason looked down at her in surprise as she buried her face against him, hugging him tightly and sobbing. Then he looked up at Vida.

"She's really been stuck on this today, hasn't she?" he asked, not quite sure how he wanted to react.

Vida nodded, finally looking up at him.

"It's been a—an emotional day," she said hesitantly, eying her brother.

"You're telling me," he muttered, glancing down at Madison again.

She was still sobbing and apologizing.

"We were so wrong," she cried, holding tightly to his shirt. "We disappointed you and—and hurt you and Tommy and everyone else… and we did—didn't listen…we're horrible sisters and I know you—you hate us but we're so sorry…"

Vida was nodding solemnly in agreement, staring at the ground again.

"Maddy," Jason said, shaking his head as he tried to get her to look up at him. "Maddy, please stop crying."

She kept sobbing and continued to apologize over and over again. Jason sighed.

"Maddy, no," he said firmly. "I don't hate you—either of you. I've never hated you."

She finally looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.

"But we almost kill—I almost killed Tommy," she sobbed. "How can you not hate me?"

He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around his little sister, hugging her back.

"I've never hated you," he said again. "You both drive me crazy—sometimes more than others—and I hate some of the things you've done, but I never have and never will hate you. I promise."

"Even after everything we did wrong?" Vida asked quietly, still standing a few feet away.

"Even after all of that," he said. "Come here."

She hesitated for a moment and then hurried over to hug him. After a moment she let go, stepping back a little. Madison continued to lean on Jason, clinging to him as though afraid he would walk away again.

"Can you ever forgive us?" Madison asked, trying not to sound too hopeful as she looked up at Jason. "I know we messed up big time, but…"

She trailed off as Jason sighed.

"Hey," he said. "I think that if I can forgive Tommy for nearly killing me—and then invite him to join the team without a second thought—that I can forgive the two of you."

The twins looked at each other in surprise.

"You invited him to fight with you?" Vida said, looking at Jason.

He nodded.

"Of course," he said. "He was meant to be with us, even if he did have a bit of a rough start. And I've never regretted that decision. We've had our moments, but he's always been my best friend. And you two are always going to be my little sisters—even if I do want to kill you sometimes."

They both smiled faintly.

"The bigger question is," he said, looking between the two of them. "Can you two ever forgive me?"

They frowned.

"For what?" Vida asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly help the situation," Jason said. "Keeping information from you, yelling at you when I should have been more patient—all the things Tommy has been on my case about since the whole thing blew up. Man does he stick to something once he's on it… stubborn…"

"You did keep a lot from us," Madison said.

"I know…" he sighed. "That was never my intention. I just—I wanted to give you a chance to figure things out on your own. And then everything fell apart so quickly…"

"We know…" Vida mumbled.

He shook his head.

"You two aren't little kids anymore," he said seriously. "You've got to think about what you're doing, especially as rangers. That kind of power is a big responsibility and when you mess up there are big consequences. And now that you've sworn to the Code, you risk a lot more to yourselves than just a few bruises if you lose the fight."

"What do you mean?" Madison asked hesitantly.

"We aren't kidding when we say that to break the Code means risking losing the protection of the Power," he said. "If you break from it badly enough, you just won't be rangers anymore. You'll be stripped of your powers and be left with no way to defend yourselves—and I don't want that to happen to you. So you've got to keep your heads on straight no matter what happens."

They both nodded fervently.

"We'll try," they promised.

"Good," he said. "Because I don't want to have to come rescue you the next time you do something stupid."

"Hey, we can take care of ourselves, big brother," Vida said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, well, I'm always going to be your overprotective big brother," he said, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "I know I can't protect you from everything, but I'm always going to try."

Vida smacked his hand away, but Jason retaliated by catching her around the waist and tickling her. Squealing in surprise, Vida kicked back as she tried to get away.

"Let me go!" she demanded, squirming in his grasp. "Maddy, help!"

Madison was watching them with an amused look on her face.

"Not a chance, sis," she said, shaking her head. "You got yourself into it. Now you're on your own."

As Jason chuckled, Vida continued to struggle to get away, prying at his hands and kicking. She finally managed to land a hard kick to his shin and he winced, nearly dropping her. Madison snorted, laughing at the look on his face.

"Oh, so you think that's funny?" he growled, turning toward her with vida still tightly in his grasp. "Get over here."

Madison's eyes widened and she started backing away.

"No!" she exclaimed. "Jason—no! Don't you dare!"

But he just grinned at her and shifted Vida into a better position without letting go. As Jason tossed her twin up on his shoulder, Madison bolted away. He took off after her, Vida laughing and holding on for dear life as her twin ran for hers.


	50. Chapter 50

A while later the three siblings collapsed in the grass, staring up at the sky as they caught their breath. Jason had chased his sisters around the yard for a while before Vida had finally gotten free and the girls turned on him. Now, tired and out of breath from running and laughing, they were ready to stop for a while. For a while they just lay in the grass enjoying each other's company.

"Jason?" Vida asked a little while later, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" he said, turning his head to look at her.

"We really are sorry for everything we did…" she said quietly. "And we do want to be a part of the rangers…"

He smiled, nodding.

"I know," he said. "And I want you to be a part of this—well, as much as I can, anyways."

The girls frowned, looking at each other.

"What does that mean?" Madison asked.

He sighed, sitting up and leaning forward on his knees. They followed his lead, curling their legs underneath them.

"I never wanted you to be rangers," he admitted, glancing over at them. "It's not exactly a safe thing. And then I found out about the magic and, well—let's just say this hasn't been easy for any of us. It's been hard for me to stand back and let you purposefully put yourselves in harm's way—"

"Because that's what you've always done for us," Madison finished softly.

Jason nodded.

"Exactly," he said.

"We can handle it, big brother," Vida said. "And if we do need help, we'll tell you. Promise."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "And I suppose you're going to keep using magic, aren't you?"

"Umm…yeah," Vida said. "We're all still in training and—well, it's what we want to do. That magic is a part of us now and we don't just want to lock it away again. We want to use it to help people."

"I guess I can't argue against that," he muttered. "But the instant one of you starts using it for other things I'm getting you out of there."

"But Jason," Madison started to protest.

The look he gave her didn't leave any room for argument. She sighed, relenting.

"So when do we get to meet the rest of the rangers?" Vida asked, changing the subject.

"Eventually," Jason shrugged. "But you have already met most of the reds."

"We have?" Madison frowned. "When?"

"Back when you were in high school," Jason said. "We got back to my house to find you two waiting and had to scramble for a quick cover. Good thing Eric thought fast or we'd have been caught…"

His sisters frowned, trying to remember the incident he was talking about. Then it dawned on them.

"Wait—all of those guys are rangers?" Vida exclaimed.

"Every one of them," Jason grinned. "And every one of them a red. So the only reds you haven't met are the ninjas—Shane and Hunter."

"Which they are not happy about," someone interrupted.

Jason, Vida, and Madison turned to see Trent and Kira standing behind them, each holding one of the twins.

"Not in the slightest," Kira agreed. "Not only have they not met any of you, but you didn't even send them a letter when you attempted to contact the rest of us."

The girls frowned.

"Yes we did," Vida said. "But it just kept reappearing on the table… We couldn't figure out what was blocking it so we gave up…"

Kira and Trent exchanged surprise looks.

"Well, Cam and Hunter will be happy to know the shields on their academies are still strong," Trent commented. "Though I'm surprised it didn't go to Blake when it couldn't reach the others. He doesn't live at the academies—normally, anyways."

Kira nodded and then paused.

"Wait," she said. "It couldn't have. If it came around the same time ours did, that was right after Hunter grounded him."

Jason frowned.

"Grounded?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "What did Blake do this time?"

Kira sighed, shaking her head.

"Remember that accident he had just before Christmas?" she said. "The one that had all of the ninjas in an uproar because some idiot ran him off the track?"

Jason nodded.

"Well, it turns out he didn't just sprain his knee like they initially thought," Kira continued. "He actually tore his ACL up pretty badly…"

Wincing, Jason nodded sympathetically. All of the rangers had experienced similar injuries at one point or another—though usually while they were actually active rangers and had the benefit of the healing effects of the morphing grid.

"And you know how Hunter is," Trent smirked.

"Oh, I know," Jason said drily. "Overprotective of his little brother to the extreme."

"Exactly," Kira said. "Between Hunter and the rest of the ninjas they've managed to confine Blake to one or the other of the academies for the duration of his recovery. They don't let him go anywhere without someone keeping eyes on him—whether it's one of them, Sensei, or even some of the students."

Jason laughed, shaking his head.

"Poor kid," he laughed. "That's got to be driving him nuts."

Kira and Trent nodded.

"Yeah, he's got like three months left of his grounding," Trent said. "Or longer if the doctor doesn't clear him for driving."

Vida and Madison, who had been listening in interest, exchanged glances. Both of them were thinking about offering to talk to Udonna about healing spells, but something told them it probably wouldn't be a good idea. So they kept quiet. More of the rangers were crowding out into the yard now as they finished up their work. The volume grew, though they did their best to keep everything as quiet as possible. They didn't want to wake up Tommy and Hayley.

"Hey, Trent," Ethan said. "Your dad called. Wanted to know if you were coming home for dinner."

Trent, sitting on the ground with some of the other rangers, glanced up and shook his head.

"Not tonight," he said. "Think I'll stick around until everyone else goes home."

Ethan grinned, nodding.

"That's what I said," he said. "I told him we had some ranger stuff going on and that you'd be home late—or end up sleeping here."

Nodding, Trent started to go back to his conversation with Zach and Billy. Madison and Vida exchanged shocked looks.

"You told your dad?" they said in surprise, looking at Trent.

He sighed, glancing over at them. They'd drawn the attention of the rest of the group, too. The only ones not outside now were Hayley and Tommy. Everyone else was relaxing in the sunshine.

"Yeah," he said. "Dad knows everything anyways."

"He was our villain," Kira clarified.

"What?" Vida exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Trent said quickly. "He's not anymore. We saved him."

"Uh-huh…" Madison said, not really sure what to think.

"Long story," Kira smiled. "Having fun with them?"

The girls smiled and nodded, looking down at the babies cradled in their arms. Trent and Kira had been perfectly alright with letting the twins hold the twins for a while after they came outside. Vida smiled, cooing down at the tiny baby with the little shock of red hair in her arms. The twins were delighted to hold the tiny twins.

"I still can't believe we didn't even know Hayley was pregnant," Vida murmured, looking down at Kimberly.

Jason sighed as the rest of the rangers exchanged knowing glances.

"Tommy tried to come tell you…" he said patiently. "Right after Christmas. But you wouldn't even see him—or call him when he left you a message."

Madison and Vida both flinched. They remembered that day.

"I guess we don't really have any excuse…" Madison sighed. "It's our own fault."

"And we won't argue with that," Kira said, leaning back on her hands.

The twins exchanged guilty looks and Kira sighed.

"But we're moving past it," Kira continued. "And Vida, I'll unblock your number now if you want to give me a real call. I really do think you have talent—I just didn't want anything to do with you after what you did to Dr. O."

"I can understand that," Vida nodded. "And I'll do that."

"Great," Kira smiled.

Shaking his head, Jason fell backward in the grass again as the rangers continued to relax.

_**Moving to Briarwood**_

"_Just a little more to the left," Jason said, watching closely as they maneuvered the couch through the doorway. "Little more—careful!"_

_Adam and Tommy both glared at him. Rocky also shot a glare from behind them where he was trying to carry an armchair up the stairs by himself._

"_Hey Jase?" Tommy said, panting from the effort of carrying the couch up the stairs. "Got a question."_

"_Yeah?" Jason asked._

"_How come we're carrying all of the heavy stuff while you supervise?" he said. "They're your sisters—we're just being nice by helping you out."_

_Tommy, Adam, and Rocky were with Jason in Briarwood helping move Vida and Madison into their new apartment. They were starting their first year of college in a couple of weeks and wanted to get settled in before classes started. Xander and Chip were moving in, too—same complex, different apartment. All four of them were also starting a new job later that week at a local record store. _

"_Because," Jason said. "I'm making sure nothing gets knocked over or broken."_

_Tommy snorted. _

"_Yeah, like none of us could take a turn at that," he said._

"_Just hold on a second and you can put it down," Jason retorted._

_They'd gotten it inside the apartment now. Inside, boxes were piled to either side of the door. The rest of the furniture was already in place, the couch being the last thing in the truck. Madison and Vida were darting around the apartment trying to decide where to put everything. Seeing the guys carry in the couch, they hurried over._

"_You can put that right over there against the wall," Vida said. "And Rocky, the chair can go—in that corner."_

_She pointed to the respective places. _

"_Thanks!" Madison added, beaming at them. _

_Moving carefully, Adam and Tommy moved the couch to where the girls directed them and set it down. Rocky set down the chair, too. Sighing in relief, all three relaxed for a moment as they caught their breath. The girls frowned as they looked at the couch. They spoke quietly for a moment, gesturing as they glanced around._

"_Umm…So, we think the couch might look better over there…" Madison said after a moment, pointing to another spot partway across the room. _

_Both Tommy and Adam groaned, but reached down to pick up the couch again. They moved it to where the girls asked them to and set it down again. But Vida and Madison immediately started shaking their heads._

"_It looks better back in the first spot…" Vida said sheepishly._

_Now the two men glared at her. _

"_Sorry…" Madison said, giving them a pleading look._

"_Alright," Tommy sighed. "But you're sure that's where you want it? Because we're only moving it one more time."_

"_Yes," they said together, nodding._

_Reaching down, Adam and Tommy picked up the couch again. Vida was watching them hesitantly. _

"_Well, maybe it is—" Vida started to say._

_But Madison elbowed her and she let it go. The two men moved the couch back to the original spot and put it down. They then plopped down on it, sighing as they leaned back and stretched out their legs. Rocky was already sitting in the armchair he'd brought up. Jason, still standing, crossed his arms as he frowned at his friends._

"_Hey, don't get comfortable," he said. "There are still boxes of stuff by the door to move into the kitchen and their bedrooms."_

"_Nope," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I'm done. Your turn, Rex." _

"_Come on," Jason insisted. "There's not that much more."_

"_Sorry, can't," he said, leaning his head back against the back of the couch. "I'm under strict orders to relax the moment I start to feel faint or lightheaded."_

_Jason frowned._

"_Whose orders?" he said. "And since when do you feel faint or lightheaded? You're fine."_

"_Doctor's orders," he said. "And besides, how do you know if I do or not? For all you know, I could pass out any second. They never did explain that coma last year."_

_Jason snorted._

"_Unexplained?" he said, shaking his head. "Tommy, you shocked yourself into a coma."_

"_But that shouldn't have put me in a coma," Tommy countered, smirking at Jason and crossing his arms. "So, therefore, it is medically unexplained."_

_Jason glared at him as Rocky and Adam exchanged knowing looks. _

"_You did something stupid and landed yourself in the hospital," Jason growled, crossing his arms. "Doesn't mean you can't help now. You're fine."_

"_That's not what my medical records say," Tommy grinned, not making a move to stand. "And that's what we have to go by. Don't make me call my mother—she'll be happy to explain exactly why I should be relaxing."_

_Jason rolled his eyes. _

"_Well, if that's the case," he said. "Then we should be rushing you to the hospital right now."_

_Madison and Vida exchanged concerned glances as Tommy shook his head. _

"_Tommy, are you ok?" Madison asked, moving to sit on the couch next to him. _

_He smiled, slinging and arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick one-armed hug. _

"_Oh, I'm fine," he said. "Well, I'm fine as long as I don't have to pick anything else up—can't do anything too strenuous."_

_Tommy smirked at Jason as Madison and Vida nodded._

"_That's ok," Vida said. "You've helped enough for today. Jason can do something now."_

_Jason frowned._

"_I have done something," he said._

"_Sure you have," Adam grumbled. _

"_Jason, you really haven't done much," Madison said, looking at her brother. "Tommy, Adam, and Rocky carried all of the furniture up—and most of the heavier boxes…"_

"_I have too," he argued. "I helped unload the truck and the other vehicles."_

"_Yeah," Rocky retorted. "Because yelling 'don't drop that' at us is so helpful."_

"_Yeah, yeah," Jason muttered. "But I did help load everything."_

"_No you didn't," Vida countered. "You were too busy making sure Mark didn't hide in a box or behind a piece of furniture in any of the cars."_

_Adam, Tommy, and Rocky were smirking at him, enjoying watching their friend called out by his little sisters. _

"_I—fine," Jason grumbled. "Remind me—why I am I helping you again instead of dad?"_

"_Because dad had to work," Madison said. "Besides, you volunteered."_

_Jason frowned._

"_When exactly did I do that?" he asked. "I don't remember volunteering to do this."_

"_Dad said you did," Vida answered. "So take it up with him."_

_Jason opened his mouth to protest and then decided against it. Tommy laughed and stood up, stretching._

"_Well, this was fun, girls," he said, giving each of them a hug. "But I'm out of here. Hayley's making dinner tonight so I need to get home."_

_The twins exchanged looks and then looked back at Tommy._

"_So you're going to rush all the way home for dinner instead of just eating with us in a little while?" Vida asked._

_He grinned, shrugging. _

"_Hey," he said. "You'll probably understand this better later, but I'm technically still a newlywed. Add that to the fact that I only had about a month with Hayley before I left on a four month dig out of the country. Oh, and school starts in three weeks. I'm spending as much time with her as I can before we're both too busy to see each other for more than passing remarks."_

_Jason, Rocky, and Adam were now exchanging amused looks as the girls just shrugged._

"_Come back and visit soon," Madison said. _

"_Of course," he said. "Help each other with school and don't get yourselves in trouble. And remember—you can always call me if you need me."_

_Hugging them again, he headed out the door. Jason was shaking his head. _

"_Well, guess we're down one for dinner," Vida sighed, looking around. "Why is he in such a hurry to get home?"_

_Jason exchanged amused looks with Rocky and Adam._

"_He's going to go home and make out with his wife like a teenager," Jason grinned. _

_Both of the girls groaned, shaking their heads. _

"_What?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow. _

"_We didn't need to know that," Vida said._

"_You asked," Jason said. "And you're old enough now. Besides, Trini and I do it all the time."_

"_Eww!" the girls cried, grimacing. _

"_That is not something we want to think about," Madison said._

"_No kidding, big brother," Vida added. "Unnecessary information. Tommy is one thing, but you? That's just—ugh."_

_Jason rolled his eyes. _

"_Stop being babies," he said. "How else do you think we ended up with Mark? A stork?"_

"_Stop it!" they exclaimed. _

_Adam and Rocky were laughing so hard by this point that they could barely breathe. Rocky had slid out of the chair and was now shaking in laughter on the floor at the absolute horror on the girls' faces. Adam had just fallen over on the couch, shaking his head. _

"_Jason, no more," Madison said. "Please—we don't need that in our heads."_

"_Alright, alright," Jason said, laughing. "I'm done."_

_They sighed in relief, both still trying to get the conversation out of their heads. _

"_Now," Jason said, looking around the room. "Let's finish moving everything before dinner."_

_Adam and Rocky sobered up, looking at the large stack of boxes just inside the front door._

"_Umm… I forgot I promised Tanya I'd be home for dinner," Adam said quickly, getting up off the couch. "Sorry girls, gotta bail. Have a good school year."_

_Rocky was up, too, following Adam._

"_And he's my ride," Rocky said. "Bye!"_

_They were both gone before Jason could protest. Sighing, he shook his head and turned back to his sisters._

"_Well, I guess you're really helping now," Vida said. "Cause we packed those boxes expecting help."_

"_What does that mean?" Jason frowned. _

"_It means that a couple of them are too heavy for us to lift alone," Madison clarified. "We aren't strong enough to lift them—which is why we were counting on you…"_

_Groaning, Jason rubbed and hand over his face as he turned to look at the pile. He regarded it for a moment and then took a deep breath._

"_Alright," he said. "Let's get stuff moved and get dinner—you two can unpack the boxes later."_

_Nodding, the girls followed him to the pile and they all started moving boxes to the correct rooms. _

* * *

A while later Jason turned his head to look at his sisters. They had surrendered the babies to Trini and Kim, letting someone else hold the infant twins for a while.

"So, there's something I'm still not sure I understand," he said, looking at them.

Madison and Vida frowned, exchanging glances.

"What is it?" Madison asked.

"How is it possible?" he asked, turning back to look up at the sky again. "That the evil space witch who, on countless occasions, tried to kill me—not to mention everyone else on earth—is the source of all of your good magic?"

His sisters sighed and exchanged glances again. Madison started to answer.

"Source of their what?" a shocked voice interrupted.

Jason shot upright, spinning around to see Tommy staring down at him. No one had heard him come out of the house. The look on the other ranger's face was one of shock and disbelief.

"Uh, Tommy," Jason said in surprise. "When did you get out here?"

"Just now," Tommy said slowly. "Want to repeat what I think I just heard you say?"

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face as he climbed to his feet. The rest of the rangers were watching in silence now, waiting to see how Tommy would take the news.

"Rita is the source of their magic," Jason muttered reluctantly after a moment when Tommy kept waiting for an answer.

Tommy took a deep breath, nodding as he ran a hand nervously through his hair.

"Oh, good," he said, sounding a little nervous now. "So I did hear you say that. I'm not imagining things…"

"I was going to tell you, Falcon," Jason said quickly. "I was just hoping to have that conversation a little more—well, privately."

He glanced behind him at everyone watching. Most of the rangers were on their feet now, not really sure whether to leave and Jason and Tommy a chance to talk or to wait.

"Uh-huh," Tommy said, eying the Mystic Force rangers. "So, they draw their magic directly from Rita? And I was the one you were concerned about?"

Jason sighed.

"Well, I know how dangerous you can be," Jason finally said. "And I figured the only reason they're dangerous is because they have wands—which can easily be taken away."

"Or not so easily," Xander muttered.

Vida elbowed him and he fell silent with a grunt. Tommy was looking at Madison and Vida now.

"And Jason is letting you two go back?" he asked.

They frowned.

"Well, yeah," Vida said. "Why not?"

Tommy snorted.

"Because you draw your magical abilities directly from the 'you're-giving-me-a-headache queen' who tried to kill us all," he said. "Including using me to try and kill them."

He gestured at his friends.

"Well, he did make us sit for scans after you went to bed," Madison said slowly.

Tommy raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he glanced at Jason and then back at the girls.

"He hasn't let you out of his sight, has he?" he asked drily.

"No…" Vida admitted, shooting a look at her brother.

Tommy smirked.

"Going to take them home with you, Jase?" he asked, still not moving any closer. "And maybe finally let them meet their niece?"

"Can we?" Madison and Vida exclaimed, whipping around to look at their brother.

"Sure," he said, shrugging. "You have clothes at mom and dad's, right?"

They nodded a confirmation.

"Then we'd be happy to have the two of you," he said. "After I manage to get you away from mom…"

The girls exchanged sheepish glances. They hadn't been home since their visit at Christmas time. Their phone call record hadn't been the best, either.

"Yeah… maybe we should go there first…" Madison said.

"Good idea," Tommy said, turning back toward the house.

"Tommy, where are you going?" Jason frowned.

"To get my tiger coin," he said. "I think I'm going to carry it for a while."

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Don't you already have it?" he asked.

Tommy paused, turning back to look at Jason as he shook his head.

"Nope," he answered. "I put them all away after I got home. But now I want the coin."

He continued toward the house and Jason sighed. Then something occurred to him and he leaned over to Trini and Billy.

"Remind me to get the dragon coin from him," he muttered. "Before we leave tonight."

The two exchanged looks, nodding quickly. Madison and Vida heard him, too, both of them looking guilty again for a brief moment. Before Tommy disappeared into the house, however, he paused. He turned back around, running a hand through his hair.

"So, I actually did come out here for a reason," he said sheepishly. "Are you guys staying for dinner?"

The rangers exchanged amused looks, all of them answering 'yes' to Tommy's question.

"Good," he said. "Hayley is ordering dinner. Pizza, I think. It was the easiest. And you guys can come inside now if you want."

He smiled.

"Thanks for the help around the house," he added.

His friends smiled back as most of them immediately started making their way inside, led by Kat and Kim with the babies. Tommy pulled the door open, holding it as people started making their way inside. The Mystic Force team was the last group to move, still trying to keep close together.

"So who's paying for dinner?" Rocky grinned as he walked past Tommy.

"Depends on how much you plan to eat," Tommy said drily. "I only plan extra for Conner, not everyone else. If that's not enough then you're on your own."

Rocky laughed, disappearing inside.

"Well, if you were planning for Conner there should be plenty, then," Zach laughed, scooting inside after Rocky.

Tommy snorted in response, turning back to watch the rest of the group as they moved inside. The Mystic Force rangers were still bringing up the rear, waiting patiently for their chance to move inside. Tommy stared in surprise as Nick reached out to take Madison's hand, leaning over to say something Tommy couldn't catch from the door. She smiled, nodding as she leaned against him. Neither one noticed Tommy's gaze and, as he continued watching, Nick leaned down to give Madison a quick kiss.

"Uh, Jase?" Tommy said, sticking out an arm to stop Jason from walking inside.

The few rangers still outside halted, looking at Tommy in surprise. He still hadn't take his eyes off the young couple, both of whom were regarding him nervously now.

"What?" Jason said, frowning. "Am I not allowed back in the house now?"

Tommy shook his head.

"Not, that's not what I'm talking about," he said. "I want to know when you were planning on telling me that Maddy and Nick are dating."

Jason froze—as did the Mystic Force team. As he slowly turned around to see what Tommy was talking about, Madison's eyes widened and Nick looked at her in surprise.

"You didn't tell him, did you?" he asked.

"No…" she said, shaking her head. "Haven't had a chance…"

"Oh, good," Nick muttered. "I'm dead."

Jason stared at them for a moment, his gaze going from his sister, to Nick, to their hands, and back.

"Jason?" Tommy said again, watching his friend now.

Shaking himself out of his initial shock, Jason started stalking through the remaining rangers toward Nick. Some of the group inside poked heads back out to see what was going on.

"Because I didn't know," Jason growled, answering Tommy's question though his gaze was fixed on Nick. "I need to have a word with you, rookie."

Nick watched him nervously, backing up a step or two without letting go of Madison's hand.

"Jason, don't," she said, trying to put herself between Nick and her brother.

"I'd run, rookie," Zach laughed from the doorway, poking his head back outside.

"As fast as you can," Rocky added with a grin, leaning around Zach.

As Jason tried to lunge around Madison and grab Nick, the younger ranger bolted. Jason didn't hesitate to take off after him across the yard.

"Jason!" Madison cried. "You can't hurt him!"

Tommy, letting go of the door, walked over to stand next to her.

"Tommy, you have to stop him!" she pleaded, turning to him.

"Not a chance," he said, shaking his head.

"But I though you said we weren't allowed to hurt the newbies," Ethan commented, watching Jason chasing Nick. "Ranger rules."

Tommy snorted.

"He's not chasing Nick as a ranger," he said. "Right now he's just the overprotective big brother."

"And that is why I don't have a boyfriend," Vida smirked, earning a glare from her twin.

The rangers were all watching in amusement now as Jason continued to chase Nick. The younger red ranger had a head start, but Jason was catching up. He knew the layout of Tommy's backyard and Nick didn't, giving Jason the advantage and the ability to avoid things like hidden tree roots. It wouldn't be long before he cornered the young man.

"So why are you still standing here?" Adam asked, looking at Tommy. "I would have thought you'd be right with Jason—or ahead of him."

Tommy shrugged.

"I have newborn twins," he said. "So I've got to conserve what energy I can. I'll let Jason do the catching—then I'll help."

"Tommy!" Madison exclaimed in protest.

"Oh, don't worry," Tommy grinned, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "We won't hurt him. He'll still be in one piece at the end of the night. I just might not buy him dinner."

She just groaned in response, watching nervously as Jason nearly caught Nick.

"Tommy, why is Jason chasing Nick?" Hayley asked from the doorway.

She had shooed Zach and Rocky out of the way so she could see what the fuss was. Tommy glanced over his shoulder to look at her. Madison did, too, hoping Hayley would help her.

"Nick is dating Maddy," Tommy answered.

Hayley raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well, alright then," she said. "Dinner is ordered and should be here in about an hour. Try not to get him or yourselves too muddy. The house looks beautiful right now thanks to everyone here and I want it to stay that way. I'll make sure to let you know when the food arrives."

Madison sighed in defeat as her last hope for an intervention disappeared. No one was going to step in to stop Jason from having a 'word' with Nick about dating his sister.

"Look at it this way sweety," Trini said as she walked over to put an arm around Madison's shoulders. "At least you know, any guy who stays after this is a keeper."

Madison just groaned, as everyone started laughing.


	51. Epilogue

**All right guys and Thicker than water comes to an end. I hope you enjoyed it there will be a few more posts getting the other version of the ending up, so a little different style this time. Thanks for reading and as always the reviews and feedback we have gotten has been much appreciated. Thanks again and see you next time! **

**Peace out from**

**Superdory57 and hazergirl1220 **

* * *

**Epilogue**

"Do I have employees or lay-abouts?" Toby frowned, standing in the doorway of his office. "Aren't you supposed to be unpacking this morning's shipment?"

The rangers sighed, all of them glancing up at him. Xander was leaned back in his favorite chair, eyes closed as he relaxed. Madison was at the counter working on some reading for a class she'd be taking for the fall semester. Nick was sitting next to her on her computer, looking through some of the videos she had stored there. Vida was wandering in circles with a pair of headphones on and Chip was lying on his back on the floor by the DJ tables, tossing a ball up and down.

"We're working on it, Toby," Xander answered. "It'll be done."

"Uh-huh," he said doubtfully, shutting his office door and walking toward the front of the shop. "I'm going out. When I get back I'd better see you all working or you're all fired."

The threat didn't scare them much. He'd been threatening to fire them since they started and had yet to actually do so, even after all of their taking off during their stint as rangers.

"Don't worry, it'll be done," Nick said absently, looking at the computer again.

Shaking his head, Toby stepped out and let the door shut behind him. For a while it was quiet and then Nick sighed, closing the laptop.

"Alright, guys," he said. "Let's get it done."

"Mmm k," Xander said, not moving. "Chip, you're on that, right?"

Chip turned to glance at Xander, nearly missing the ball as it came dropping back down toward his face.

"Xander," Nick frowned.

"What?" Xander said, half sitting up to look at Nick. "It won't take us that long to do. And besides, Toby won't be back to check on us for hours. He might not even come back til morning."

Nick rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. Then the front door opened. All of them jumped in surprise. Chip really did drop the ball, hitting himself in the head with a yelp as he jerked up. Xander sat up in the chair and Madison, Vida, and Nick all spun to look at the door. But it wasn't Toby who walked in. Instead it was three other men, two they recognized and one they didn't. Conner was leading the three, flanked by a man they recognized as TJ and a stranger who looked vaguely familiar to the girls.

"What—" Nick started to ask.

"TJ? Eric?" Conner grinned. "Get 'im."

Still grinning, he pointed at Nick who looked back in surprise, leaping to his feet. With grins on their own faces, TJ and Eric strode straight over to the young red ranger and each of them took an arm.

"Wait a minute!" he protested as they started hauling him toward the door. "What is going on?"

"Conner, what are you doing?" Madison cried, getting to her feet and rushing after Nick.

He was struggling to get away, but neither of the other two men was letting go. Xander, Vida, and Chip were all on their feet now, too.

"Put me down!" Nick demanded, glaring at Conner.

Conner just laughed, shaking his head.

"Not a chance," he said. "You're coming with us."

The door opened again as TJ and Eric reached it. Jason walked in, holding the door open for the other two to haul the protesting Nick out of the shop.

"Jason, what is going on?" Madison demanded, hands on her hips as she looked at her brother.

"Sorry, Maddy," Jason said, shaking his head as he let go of the door. "But your boyfriend ticked off one to many red, so we're taking care of it."

Her eyes widened and she started to sputter in protest.

"Jason!" Vida exclaimed. "You can't do this! He hasn't done anything!"

The door swung open again and Tommy joined the group. Seeing the looks on the young rangers' faces, he sighed and turned to glare at Jason.

"Great, Rex," he said. "You just had to scare them, didn't you?"

"What?" Jason said, grinning. "I'm their older brother. It's my right to scare them."

Tommy rolled his eyes, turning back to the four remaining Mystic Force rangers.

"Guys, it's fine," he said reassuringly. "No one is going to hurt Nick."

"Aww… Dr. O," Conner complained.

"No, Conner," Tommy said.

"Fine," he grumbled, turning to reach for the door. "Then we're going with Plan B."

Opening the door, he strode out shouting something about paintball guns to someone they couldn't see. Groaning, Tommy rubbed a hand over his face.

"Well, you might be getting your red back eventually," Jason laughed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Xander demanded as the rest of the team protested again.

"And this is why I came with you," Tommy muttered, glaring at Jason again before turning back to the younger rangers. "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to him. We'll have Nick back to you tomorrow."

"What are you doing to him?" Madison demanded.

She whipped around to Jason.

"Jase, if this is you getting all of your friends to gang up on him just because he's my boyfriend I'm never speaking to you again!" she snapped, glaring at him.

"No, no, no," Tommy said, shaking his head. "That's not what this is about."

"Because I'm being good for once," Jason smirked.

"No, because your name didn't get drawn," Tommy corrected.

Xander frowned.

"Drawn?" he repeated.

Tommy nodded.

"It's something we do for all of the new rangers," he explained. "We've been doing it for years. Think of it as an initiation."

"Or hazing," Jason added.

"So then whose name got drawn?" Chip asked.

"Conner's," Jason grinned. "And we have no idea what he's planning."

The four young rangers groaned and Madison looked like she was about to start panicking.

"Don't worry," Tommy said quickly. "We've only ever had one broken limb."

He paused, glaring at Jason.

"Even if it was a complete accident," he continued. "We've set a few stricter rules in what is and isn't allowed since then."

"Hey, that was not my fault," Jason protested. "How was I supposed to know Cole would actually jump? None of the rest of you would have."

Tommy shook his head.

"Like I said, don't worry too much," Tommy reassured them. "Conner just turned twenty-one about a month ago. So, chances are, we'll probably just end up sitting around the campsite drinking while Nick acts as the slave and does everything for the rest of the reds."

"I think Conner said something about a paintball hunt with Nick as the prey," Jason added, still clearly enjoying himself.

Tommy sighed.

"So he may have a few bruises when he gets back," he admitted. "But I promise it's mostly harmless. But the rest of you will find that out over the next few weeks anyways."

"What?" Vida frowned, not sure what he was talking about.

Jason started laughing again.

"Yeah, you all get to do it, too," he said. "Though I'm kind of sad I only get one this year…"

"Yeah, well, I only get two this year," Tommy said.

"Some of us only have two colors," Jason countered.

"Two?" another man interrupted from the doorway. "Don't complain. Some of us only have one."

Tommy and Jason both turned to look at him.

"Did you need something, Wes?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you guys about done?" he asked. "Things are getting a little crazy outside. We're getting some weird looks from passersby."

"What's going on?" Tommy frowned.

"Eh, not much," he snorted. "Except Nick bit Eric in an escape attempt and now Eric is ready to kill him. Shane and Andros are trying to keep him away and TJ is pretty much sitting on Nick now, but we really should get going…"

"Just tie him up," Jason said, shaking his head. "We brought rope for a reason."

"Yeah, we tried that," Wes said. "He set it on fire. No more rope."

Sighing, Tommy moved toward the door.

"Alright, we're coming," he said. "Hurry up and say goodbye, Jase."

He followed Wes out the door, shouting before the door had even shut behind him.

"Eric, knock it off!" he shouted. "And Nick, get in the van. You're just making it harder on yourself. If you don't get in and quiet down—"

The door shut behind him, cutting off whatever threat he was making. Jason just continued to smirk, shaking his head.

"So this is going to happen to all of us?" Chip asked nervously.

"To some extent," Jason shrugged. "Not all of you will be dragged out and tied up, but you won't know it's coming til it happens."

"But how will we know it's them?" Xander asked.

"Oh, you'll know," Jason said. "Whoever's in charge will make it clear why they're there. And I know who got drawn for each color already so they know not to surprise you in the middle of any kind of training. We don't need any magical accidents."

They exchanged looks.

"Yeah, that wouldn't go so well, big brother," Vida said, shaking her head. "So, can you tell us what they're going to do to us?"

He shook his head.

"Nope," he said. "Because I have no idea. All I know is who is in charge of each group this year."

They all looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" Vida said.

"Alright, alright," he relented. "Vida, you got lucky. Cassie is in charge this year. Which means you might actually get to do something other than go shopping or spend the day at a spa. She'll probably end up doing something musical."

Vida grinned.

"I think I could handle that," she said.

"I figured," he smiled. "And Maddy, you really have nothing to worry about."

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, Billy has never had a chance because he's been off planet," Jason explained. "So the blues didn't draw this year, they just gave it to him. Worse thing you might have to do is some kind of experiment in his lab. Just don't touch anything you don't recognize without his permission and you'll be fine."

She nodded, looking a little relieved.

"And Kelsee is taking the yellows this year," Jason said, moving on to Chip. "I don't know what she's doing, but I know it'll be something fun."

Chip grinned, somewhat excited now. Jason started to say something to Xander when the door opened again and Tommy hurried in.

"Jase, we gotta to," he said.

"Wait a minute," Xander protested. "He hasn't told me who got the greens."

Tommy stopped, a smirk crossing his face.

"Oh, don't worry, Xander," he said. "I got the greens this year."

Xander froze, looking at Tommy in surprise. Still smirking, Tommy moved to hug Madison and Vida goodbye.

"We'll have Nick back tomorrow," he promised. "See you girls later."

He turned to head back out the door. Pausing, he stopped to nod at Xander.

"Xander," he grinned.

Spinning, he let out an evil laugh as he walked out the door. Jason jerked, glaring after him. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and gave his sisters a quick hug.

"Love you both," he said. "See you tomorrow."

Rushing out the door, he started shouting after Tommy.

"Bro, if you're going to do that all night I swear—"

The door slammed behind him, effectively cutting off whatever threat he was making to Tommy. For a moment no one said anything and then Madison sighed, turning away from the door.

"Oh, I hope they don't hurt him," she mumbled, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, sis," Vida said. "He'll be fine, you'll see."

Madison glared at her twin.

"Oh, I'm sure," she said. "Jason's there, V. Tommy's bad enough sometimes, but if they're both there…"

"Relax," said Vida. "It's not like Jason's in charge of his."

"Yeah," Chip laughed. "Like Tommy is in charge of Xander's. Right, Xander?"

He turned to the green ranger. Xander was still staring at the door.

"Xander?" Chip repeated. "Earth to Xander."

"I'm going to die…" Xander groaned, finally breaking his stare and turning to his teammates. "I'm a dead man walking."

All three of them burst out laughing.

"Yes, yes you are," Vida agreed. "So let's get some work done before you die."

"But I get to meet Kelsee!" Chip exclaimed as they started heading toward the back.

Madison, Vida, and Xander exchanged looks.

"Who's Kelsee?" Vida asked. "Other than a yellow?"

Chip groaned, looking at his teammates in exasperation.

"Don't you guys ever pay attention?" he asked, grumbling. "She's from Lightspeed…"


	52. Alternate ending chap 47

So this is the original ending that we wrote for this story, we both decided that we would share it with you. It starts from chapter 47 and the first chunk of it is the same. Hope you enjoy and this way you all can decide which ending you like to finish the story off with. Thanks again for the support and feed back. There is a ton of new ideas flouting around in our heads so who knows where we will go next. Thanks again to ScarletMoonRanger for the request, and as for the others we have received we will be working on those that we feel inspired by soon. Enjoy everyone you make writing these a lot more fun! :)

* * *

"So they're really coming, then?" Kat asked, looking at Jason. "Are you sure?"

He sighed, nodding.

"Yes, Kat," he said. "I wouldn't have brought everyone here if I didn't think they were really coming."

She shot a look back at him, but didn't say anything else as she settled back into her chair. All of the original rangers, except Tommy, were gathered at Jason and Trini's house. The Scotts' two young children were noticeably absent, as were the children of the other rangers. They had ranger business to attend to and didn't need the kids around to make things ten times harder to keep under wraps.

"Now," Jason said, looking around the room. "I know they're coming, but I still don't know what they're going to do once they're presented with the truth. It's different this time…"

Trini smiled gently.

"We'll all get through this," she said reassuringly. "I'm not saying it won't be difficult, but things are bound to turn out alright."

He eyed her doubtfully, but didn't argue.

"So what's the plan?" Adam asked.

Everyone was looking at Jason now.

"Well," he said, glancing at his watch. "We're still waiting on one, so let's wait a few more minutes. I don't want to have to cover everything twice."

The other rangers all exchanged confused looks, even Trini didn't seem to know what Jason was talking about.

"Jason, we're all here," Kim said slowly. "Except Tommy. And I'm pretty sure he shouldn't be there… At least not until we get to explain…"

"Kim's right," Kat agreed. "I know Tommy's forgiven them, but he would just be making himself a target by showing up with us… Not to mention that may send them running…"

Jason shook his head.

"Tommy has no idea we're doing this," he said. "And Hayley is not about to tell him."

"He can't be part of this even if Hayley tells him," Trini pointed out. "She had the babies three weeks early and he couldn't get a flight back. He's still overseas for another week. And there's no way he'd go out of his way to get home for this if he couldn't have already done so to see the birth of his daughters."

Nods of agreement went around the room.

"Trini has a point," Tanya agreed.

Jason sighed, running a hand over his head.

"Well, actually," he started to say.

He was interrupted by the front door opening. All of the rangers immediately turned to look, curious as to who else was joining them.

"We're in the living room," Jason called, not moving from his seat.

Footsteps came down the hall, but it wasn't Tommy who walked in. It was another man, dressed in blue, who was very familiar to all of them.

"Billy!" Kim squealed, launching herself out of her chair to hug him.

The rest of the rangers weren't far behind, crowding Billy as everyone tried to hug him. The volume in the room nearly tripled as everyone tried to talk to him at once. Billy just laughed, hugging his friends back and answering what questions he could. For a while, Jason didn't interrupt, watching from his chair as he waited for his turn to greet their long absent friend. After a while he stood up.

"Alright, guys," he said, shaking his head. "Let him breathe. Billy will be here for a while so you'll all get a chance to catch up. Right now we have some more serious business to attend to."

The rangers sobered up as Jason brought their attention back to the problem at hand. Gathering back in their seats, they made room for Billy to join them.

"So now will you tell us what the plan is?" Aisha asked, looking at Jason.

"And why Billy needed to come all the way from Aquitar for it?" Rocky added. "No offense. It's not that I'm not glad to see you, man, but that's a long way to come for one meeting."

Billy smiled, not offended in the slightest.

"No offense taken," he said. "I am here because Jason asked me to come."

Heads turned back to look at Jason who just shrugged.

"We need him," he said as explanation, which just earned him confused looks and frowns.

"What Jason means," Billy said, continuing the explanation. "Is that he felt my ability to remain unbiased in most situations would give us the opportunity to address several pressing issues, such as the Code and magical boundaries, with the young rangers prior to the full disclosure of our identities. Jason did not want to risk any of us being at fault in the beginning of a conflict with said team."

Quick glances were exchanged around the room as all of the rangers mentally went over what Billy had just said.

"He means Jason thinks most of us would lose our tempers with Mystic Force," Trini clarified. "Which wouldn't give us a chance to establish the ground rules for the meeting and could start a fight without us wanting to."

Grateful nods went around the room as Trini's simple explanation got everyone back on the same page.

"Hey! Wait a minute," Zach protested, frowning. "I can keep my temper just fine, thank you very much. I already did once."

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Zach," he sighed. "You did. But there is a chance they might put two and two together too quickly if you go. We need them to swear to the Code before they see all of us, not after. Billy is our best shot at that happening. People tend not to get mad at him as easily."

Zach started to argue, but couldn't think of a good argument so he let it drop.

"Now, if there are no more interruptions," Jason said, looking around. "Then this is how it's going to work."

When no one said anything, he continued.

"To avoid being seen, we're parking at Tommy's house," he said. "No one is going to be home when we get there, because Hayley has to take the babies for an appointment, but she said it was fine if we parked out back and used the lab to access the tunnels. Most of us will walk from there to just outside the museum and wait in the trees. While we're doing that, Billy will drive to the museum—alone—and meet with Mystic Force."

The rangers were nodding, though most of them looked a little hesitant at the mention of Billy going alone.

"The plan is to time his arrival fairly close to ours," Jason continued. "So that he won't actually be alone for more than a few moments just in case something happens. Once he has established the ground rules for the meeting, the rest of us will join him. If the team refuses any of our terms—for any reason—we leave without them ever having seen us. Simple as that."

"And what happens if they do try something against Billy?" Tanya asked worriedly. "He'll be standing against them alone and if we leave…"

She trailed off, glancing at Billy.

"Andros is on standby to pull any and all of us out if necessary," Jason reassured her. "I've covered all bases on this. Including making sure Tommy's kids are as distracted as they can be. They have no idea we are going to be anywhere near Reefside, let alone the Mystic Force team."

Tanya and the rest of the group nodded. It still wasn't ideal, but that made them feel a little better about Billy going in alone. Billy just sat quietly, having already gone over everything with Jason before he had arrived.

"Alright," Jason said, taking a deep breath. "If we're all on the same page, let's head out. Remember when we get there that everyone follows my lead. I don't want to get off track because all of us are trying to throw in opinions."

As the rangers murmured agreements, they all stood to head for the door, grabbing shoes along the way as they discussed who was riding with who. Ouside, however, they all paused in surprise to see another familiar face. But this time Jason was surprised, too.

"About time you came out. You're gonna be late if you don't get moving."

"What are you doing here, kid?" Jason demanded, glaring.

Justin, sitting on the hood of Billy's car, just grinned and hopped down.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" he asked. "I'm going with you."

Jason snorted, shaking his head.

"Not a chance," he growled.

"Oh no?" Justin said, crossing his arms. "Then what else am I doing here?"

"Leaving," Jason said, stalking over to him.

Grabbing Justin by the arm, he started hauling him away so Billy could get in his car and leave.

"Hey, not cool!" Justin complained, pulling his arm free. "You know, you really should be a lot nicer to me."

"And why is that?" Jason asked, crossing his arms. "You're trying to insert yourself in business that isn't yours."

"It is too my business," Justin countered. "Tommy was my red and they were my team."

He gestured to the rest of the Turbo rangers, all of whom were standing off to the side with the rest of the originals as they waited for Jason.

"You're still not coming," Jason said shortly. "I don't need any wild cards today and Tommy isn't here to babysit you."

Justin frowned.

"I don't need a babysitter," he said.

Behind them, Billy climbed back out of his car, frowning as he started to lift the hood.

"Oh, right," Justin said, grinning again as he glanced over his shoulder at Billy. "He won't be getting too far without his distributor cap."

Hearing Justin, Billy let the hood fall again. There was no point in looking for a further reason as to why his car wouldn't start.

"Justin!" Jason snapped.

"What?" Justin said, shrugging. "I knew you'd throw a fit about me coming, so I took out some insurance. Now I'm driving cause I know the rest of you won't want to be seen. Besides, Billy really shouldn't go alone—none of us should."

Jason took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You really are a pain, kid," he muttered. "How did you even find out about this?"

Justin smirked.

"I was on the ship when you were talking to Andros," he said. "I may have overheard the details—not that he knows that."

Jason growled, glaring at Justin.

"Jason, we need to get going," Trini reminded him. "We're going to be cutting it close as is. Just let him come."

Groaning, Jason didn't say anything for a moment.

"Fine," he finally relented. "You can come—but only if you agree to listen to me."

Justin rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Alright," he muttered. "But you're not nearly as fun as Tommy."

"This isn't a field trip," Jason snapped. "So be serious or stay here. I want you to let Billy do the talking when you get there. And I swear if you let one word of this slip to anyone else I will be using you as a practice dummy in my dojo for the next month. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," Justin sighed. "Billy talks, I stay quiet, and you're the boss. Now can we go? We're going to be late."

"Fine, go," Jason snapped. "Just please tell me you actually have a decent car here. I don't want to hear that you've been stranded somewhere in the middle of nowhere."

"Relax, Jason," Justin grinned, taking off down the sidewalk with Billy in tow. "I've got my best car today."

Jason rolled his eyes as the rest of the rangers split up to cars, too.

"I've seen your cars, kid," Jason said. "Doesn't make me feel better."

"Tommy helped me fix up this one," Justin called back. "See you there."

Still shaking his head and muttering to himself, Jason headed to climb in his own car.

"Still doesn't make me feel better about him coming," he grumbled. "Especially if he's got the car I think he does…"

But with time running short, he shut the door and started the car. Taking off, Jason led the way toward Reefside and the meeting with Mystic Force.

Climbing out of, or off of, their vehicles, the Mystic Force rangers looked around at their surroundings. The museum they were parked at was closed, a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex replica on display outside. There was no sign of anyone else in the area.

"This is different than what I thought," Vida commented as they grouped together.

"It is," Madison nodded in agreement. "We were never really out here much—but there are a lot of woods around here."

"And I don't see anyone else," Chip added.

Nick nodded.

"Good," he said. "We're early. Gives us a chance to check things out and look around—make sure there's nothing going on that can take us by surprise."

Several of his teammates rolled their eyes.

"Nick, I'm sure everything is going to be fine," Xander said. "You're just being paranoid."

Nick started to respond, but Leanbow beat him to it.

"No, it's good to have a chance to look around," Leanbow said. "It never hurts to be prepared for any situation. Especially in territory you are unfamiliar with. We have no advantage here if we don't take the opportunity to create one."

The younger rangers all nodded in agreement with their teacher. Chip, who had been buzzing around anxiously all day, was now bouncing nervously in place.

"So when do you think they'll get here?" he asked, looking around for any sign of someone arriving. "Do you think they'll like us? Maybe they won't like us… How will we even know it's really them? Oh! Do you think the white ranger is coming, too?"

"Chip, relax," Nick said. "Breathe. They're just other rangers."

"But these are the original rangers," Chip said. "We grew up watching them save the city. I really hope the white ranger is there."

Vida rolled her eyes.

"Chip, it's probably just going to be the red ranger," she said. "The video said he would meet us here, not all of them. We'll probably have to wait before we can meet anyone else."

"Yeah, I know…" he sighed. "I just think it would be cool to meet all of them…"

"It would be nice," Madison agreed. "We all have our favorites. Vida's always loved the red ranger."

Vida shot a look at her sister, her face turning a little red in embarrassment.

"What?" she said when the boys all looked at her in surprise. "He saved us—and he's never been afraid to go get the bad guys…I always wanted to be like him growing up."

"Well, you certainly aren't afraid to go after the bad guys," Xander grinned. "My personal favorite was always the pink ranger. She looked cute in that skirt."

The girls rolled their eyes as Chip and Nick snorted. Their mentors shook their heads in amusement.

"What?" Xander said.

"You would pick one of the girls," Vida commented. "But did you have to pick pink?"

Xander just shrugged sheepishly.

"I always loved the yellow ranger," Madison said, smiling. "Watching them on the news and in person—she was always so sensible in everything she did."

Chip was grinning now, too.

"Thanks, Maddy," he said.

She smiled at him, but shook her head.

"Sorry, Chip," she said. "But you aren't usually that sensible. It's just not you."

"Yeah, I know," he said, not bothering to protest. "But you still picked my color. I like the white ranger best anyways. He's so cool. I mean, look at the sword he had. And the zords. First he had the tiger zord and then the falcon. Awesome."

Nick was shaking his head. He hadn't added anything to the discussion, so his teammates started prodding.

"So who's your favorite, Nick?" Chip asked.

He shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, trying to brush it off. "I really don't know anything about them—didn't follow them much growing up. I've never even been to Angel Grove."

"But you've gotta have a favorite," Xander said. "You know a little about them. So which one?"

Nick hesitated for a moment. But with all of his teammates looking at him expectantly, he relented.

"The blue ranger," he finally said, glancing at Madison.

Vida snorted, rolling her eyes as her twin blushed.

"We know which ranger you like now," she said. "We want to know which of the originals is your favorite."

"I said blue," Nick said shortly.

Vida opened her mouth to argue again, but didn't get the chance.

"I admire the black ranger the most," Leanbow interrupted.

All five of the younger rangers turned to look at him in surprise.

"Dad?" Nick said, a little shocked to hear his father join the conversation.

"Umm… How do you have a favorite?" Chip asked. "No offense—but weren't you evil and locked in the pit well before they came around?"

Leanbow shrugged.

"I caught up," he said. "Did you really think I wouldn't do my own research on the rangers who have defended Earth since my absence? Knowledge is strength in itself."

"And you shouldn't be picking favorites until you've met them," Udonna added, scolding the young rangers gently. "What you see from a distance may not be what you expect up close."

They sighed, nodding in agreement. Daggeron, who had been quietly looking around, stepped up.

"Perhaps we should actually take a look around while we wait," he said. "Just to be sure we will not be interrupted during our meeting."

With everyone in agreement, the rangers split up to survey the immediate area of the museum. They stayed mostly within eyeshot and earshot of each other, just in case there was a trap waiting. Chip, Xander, and Vida headed to the far side of the museum to check out the other side of the building. Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron went to wander the edge of the woods, looking for anyone hiding just inside the tree line. Madison and Nick moved closer to the museum to examine the building itself.

"Maddy, are you alright?" Nick asked a few minutes later. "Maddy?"

They were standing outside the building by themselves. Madison was apparently lost in thought, staring up at the giant tyrannosaurus rex that towered above them.

"Maddy," Nick repeated, touching her arm.

She jumped, spinning to look at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, sorry," she said, quickly glancing around. "What were you saying?"

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"You were staring," he said. "And you've been acting a little off all morning. Are you sure you're fine?"

"I'm sure," she reassured him, her gaze slowly going back to the dinosaur.

"Maddy, if you're nervous about this," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "we can always back out. You don't have to be here if you don't want to."

"No, it's not that," she said. "I'm excited about meeting them. Really, I am. It's just—well, it's not important right now. I promise I'm fine."

He frowned, but before he could say anything else Vida came bouncing over with Chip and Xander not far behind.

"Nothing on the other side of the museum," Vida announced. "Except more trees. There are a lot of trees here…"

Seeing Madison staring up at the dinosaur again, Vida followed her gaze.

"Is that a dent in its head?" she asked.

"Yep," Chip said, looking up at it, too.

"What?" Madison said, turning to look at her sister and then back up at the dinosaur. "Oh. Yeah. I guess I hadn't noticed."

Vida frowned as she exchanged looks with the others.

"Then why are you staring at it like it's about to eat you?" Xander asked.

Madison shook herself again, turning to glance at her sister.

"No reason," she said. "It just brought some things to mind…"

Frowning again, Vida glanced back and forth between her sister and the giant dinosaur. Her eyes widened as she realized what Madison must be thinking. Vida glanced around quickly, taking in their surroundings.

"How close do you think?" she asked Madison.

All three of the boys were frowning now, not sure how to take the twins' odd behavior.

"I don't know," Madison shrugged. "Like fifteen minutes? I'm not sure. We didn't come in from this side the one time we were there…"

"Still…" Vida said slowly.

"V, it's on the other side of town," Madison said. "We're fine. We have to be."

"Ok, what's going on?" Nick interrupted, looking between them. "What has the two of you so freaked out?"

Madison and Vida exchanged looks. Sighing, Madison turned back to Nick.

"Tommy lives in Reefside," she admitted.

"What?" Nick exclaimed, tensing as he started looking around. "He lives here and you didn't tell me? Why?"

"We didn't really think about it," Vida said. "At least not right away… We only visited him here once. He's got a house in the woods somewhere on the other side of town. Usually he visited us in Angel Grove."

Nick shook his head, clearly agitated now.

"So you're telling me that, not only are we in the territory of a ranger team that has blatantly threatened us," he snapped, "but we're also in range of an evil ranger who has already attacked us once without provocation? I knew we shouldn't have agreed to this. We would have been better off just keeping to ourselves. For all we know they could be working together!"

"Nick, please," Madison said, putting a hand on his arm. "We didn't want to mess this up. There's no reason Tommy should even know we're here. He lives on the other side of town and we have plenty of escape routes."

"Maddy is right, Nick," Xander agreed. "Besides, even if he did show up—or Dino Thunder—we can just disappear into the woods. We have lots of experience disappearing there. They've got no chance of catching us if we make it to the trees. We'll be fine."

Nick took a deep breath. With the rest of the team looking hopefully at him, he finally relented. He wasn't happy, but he stopped arguing.

"Alright," he said. "Just be watching. I don't want anyone to take us by surprise."

The sound of an approaching car caught all of their attention, drawing their minds from the conversation and to other things.

"That's gotta be them!" Chip exclaimed, darting to join Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron. "Come on, guys!"

The five young rangers ran to join their teachers as a blue jeep came into sight in the driveway. Nick, taking the lead, turned to talk to his team as they waited for the car.

"Alright guys," he said. "Now play it cool. Don't let your excitement overcome your judgment. Remember, we know nothing about him or his team outside of what they've done as rangers. We have to be careful."

As everyone nodded in agreement, Nick took a deep breath. Xander was looking at Chip in amusement.

"Is he vibrating?" he commented with a grin.

All of them turned to look at Chip. He was trying really hard not to bounce in place in excitement, which was making him appear to be physically vibrating.

"Yep," Vida said. "He is."

"Chip, relax," Nick said. "You've got to calm down. Take deep breaths."

Nodding, Chip turned his concentration to breathing in and out. He still wasn't standing completely still, but Nick let it go.

"Good enough," he sighed, turning as the car pulled to a stop.

"So long as he doesn't hyperventilate," Vida muttered, shooting a grin at Chip.

The car turned off and the rangers waited impatiently for something to happen. Nick was standing in front with Chip to his left and Vida to his right. They were both positioned just behind him. Madison was standing slightly behind and to the right of her sister. Leanbow was slightly behind Nick with Udonna beside him. Xander had taken position behind them as guard against anyone coming from behind. Daggeron was standing to Chip's left. Chip, still extremely excited for the meeting, was slowly starting to lean forward.

"Chip!" Vida hissed, seeing him out of the corner of her eye. "Stop it!"

"I'm sorry," he said, catching himself. "I just want to see and the windows are tinted…"

"Guys!" Nick whispered. "Knock it off."

"He's acting like a child," Vida protested.

"And you aren't any better," Nick snapped.

The sound of car doors slamming broke into their argument. They all turned to look. Two men had climbed out of the blue jeep and were now walking toward them. All of the rangers tensed, waiting. But, seeing them approaching and not recognizing either one as Ryan, Chip's shoulders slumped a little.

"It's not them," Vida sighed quietly.

"I guess it's not," Nick said, shaking his head as he glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the team.

But when he looked back, the two men were coming straight at them. Realizing they weren't going to stop, he tensed again.

"Guys," he hissed, drawing his team's attention.

They all refocused their attention on the two men, tensing again as they waited. The two men stopped a few yards away, looking at the group.

"Greetings," the older one said.

Nick eyed them suspiciously.

"Hi," he said shortly, not sure what to make of the pair.

"Wow," the younger of the two snorted. "That's rude. Especially since you're the ones who wanted this meeting."

The first one raised an eyebrow, glancing at him, and the younger one quieted down.

"What meeting?" Nick said, hedging.

"There is no need for the façade," the older of the two said. "We know you are the Mystic Force rangers."

"Then who are you?" Nick asked suspiciously.

The man sighed.

"I am William Cranston," he said. "You may call me Billy. And we are—ambassadors. We are here to represent the original rangers."

Some of the excitement returned to the rangers.

"So you're rangers?" Chip asked excitedly. "But, wait—I thought we were meeting with the original red ranger. Where is he?"

"Chip's right," Xander said from the back of the group. "Why are you here?"

Billy exchanged looks with his younger friend.

"We are here because Justin and I are less likely to cause volatile reactions in a first impression," he said slowly.

"So when do we get to meet the original red?" Vida frowned. "The video said we were to meet with him."

"And you will," Billy said. "However, before that meeting can occur, there are several ground rules that need to be established."

Nick frowned.

"Ground rules?" he repeated.

Billy nodded.

"Affirmative," he said. "In order to ensure the protection of ourselves and our identities, there are several things you must understand before you may meet with anyone else."

"Like what?" Nick asked, still suspicious.

Billy took a deep breath.

"I do not know what you have learned in your training as rangers," he began. "And you may not have heard this before, but I am going to begin by sharing our Code. It is something you must know and accept in order to be counted among the ranks of the rangers."

Mystic Force exchanged looks.

"But we do know the Code," Madison said quietly. "Daggeron taught it to us."

Billy looked at her in surprise and then at Daggeron who nodded in agreement.

"Very well," he said. "But, be that as it may, I am still going to recite it to you in the correct words and form. It is imperative that you understand and accept this."

The rangers stayed silent, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"You will each swear by the Power to the following," Billy said. "You will never use your power for personal gain. You will never escalate a battle. And you will never reveal your identity to anyone. To break the Code is to risk losing the protection of the Power forever."

They exchanged looks, but nodded.

"That's the Code Daggeron taught us," Madison confirmed.

"Which is fine," Billy said. "But I need you each to swear by the Power to follow each of those things."

"But we already have," Xander frowned.

Justin rolled his eyes.

"Let me explain it so you understand," he said slowly, clearly mocking them. "Just knowing the Code isn't enough. You each have to swear by the Power to follow the Code right now. Here. In front of Billy. Or we leave."

The young rangers looked at him in surprise, but Billy nodded in agreement. As the hesitated, Leanbow stepped forward.

"I swear by the Power to never use my power for personal gain," he said. "To never escalate a battle and to never reveal my identity to anyone. This I swear with the understanding that, should I knowingly break the Code, that I risk losing the protection of the Power."

Billy smiled faintly, nodding at Leanbow in gratitude. Leanbow returned the nod, stepping back into his place next to Udonna. There was another brief moment of hesitation and then, one by one, the rest of the rangers followed his lead. When the last of the rangers had spoken, swearing to follow the Code Billy had laid out for them, Billy spoke again.

"I thank you," he said.

"So do we get to meet the red ranger now?" Chip asked eagerly.

"Soon enough," Justin said, smirking. "But you've got a few more things to go through before the others arrive."

"Others?" Chip echoed. "As in more than the red ranger?"

Justin didn't answer, crossing his arms and smirking.

"And what other things?" Nick frowned.

"Simply a few more precautions," Billy said. "Now that you have sworn by the Power to uphold the Code, we need you to understand that this is your only chance to meet with us. That means you cannot walk away from this meeting."

"Why would we walk away?" Vida frowned. "We've wanted this for forever."

"Because not everything is always as it appears," Billy said. "Therefore, you need to understand that, should you walk away from this meeting you will not get a second chance. If you leave before this meeting has ended, you will have set yourselves apart from the rest of the rangers. You will be alone and no ranger team will act as your ally in anything."

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Nick said stiffly. "We're here of our own free will."

"We're not," Justin muttered, quieting down again when Billy shot him a look.

"Yes, you are," Billy agreed, turning back to Nick. "And we will not hold you hostage. If, after the others arrive, you decide you want nothing to do with us then that is your choice. But that choice, once made, cannot be reversed. We will not ally ourselves with rangers who cannot decide which side they fall on. Loyalty is extremely important to all of us. Do you understand?"

Reluctant agreements echoed among the Mystic Force rangers. They were all slightly put out by the implication that they would walk out on a meeting they had worked so hard to set up. Satisfied that they were all on the same page, Billy continued.

"Lastly," he said firmly. "While you are in our presence there is to be no magic of any kind used."

That caught their attention.

"Oh no," Nick immediately protested. "I don't think so. You have no right to tell us we can't use magic."

Billy held up a hand to stop Nick's protests.

"I am not preventing you from defending yourselves," he said, clarifying. "Should the need arise to defend yourselves from a threat we will not stop you from acting in an appropriate manner. However, we are offering no threat by meeting with you today and will not offer one unless you threaten us first—and we will see unnecessary use of magic as a threat. And, should you instigate a fight, you will be starting a war with the rangers. And it will not just be the originals you face. Should you begin a war, you will find you've set yourselves against all of the rangers who have come before you."

They were all looking at him in shock. Nick was still shaking his head.

"I don't like this," he said. "Magic is who we are. We shouldn't have to give it up just because you don't understand it."

"We understand it just fine," Billy said stiffly. "But if you cannot agree to refrain from the use of magic in our presence, then we will leave now and save you the trouble."

"Bowen," Udonna said, putting a hand on her son's shoulder. "Given their history they have reason enough to fear magic."

"Udonna is right," Leanbow agreed. "Allow them this small protection."

Nick took a deep breath, nodding.

"Alright," he reluctantly agreed. "No magic."

"We need to hear a verbal confirmation from all of you," Justin said, looking at them expectantly.

Nick glared at him, but glanced back at his team and nodded. Everyone echoed the agreement: they would not use magic in front of the original rangers. After they were done, everyone fell silent for a few moments.

"So, when do the others get here?" Chip asked, breaking the silence.

"Soon enough," Justin shrugged, grinning.

Nick shot a look at him again.

"Ok, that's it," he said. "Just who are you, kid?"

The smile disappeared from Justin's face and he stiffened. In seconds he went from casual to everything about him projecting danger.

"Only a select few people are allowed to call me kid," he growled, his gaze fixed on Nick. "You are not one of them. I wouldn't do it again, if I were you."

Surprised by Justin's rather volatile reaction, Nick didn't argue. Justin relaxed a little, though he was still clearly agitated.

"Ok, so not the best way to ask," Xander said. "But he's right. Who are you?"

"I'm Justin," Justin said. "Blue Turbo."

Now all of them were looking at him in surprise.

"Wait—how old are you?" Xander asked, frowning.

"Just turned twenty-one," Justin smirked.

He paused as something occurred to him.

"Which reminds me," he said, glancing at Billy with a grin. "TJ promised to take me out next time he's on Earth. Remind me to remind him after we're done here."

Billy raised an eyebrow as Mystic Force exchanged shocked looks.

"I am not entirely certain how well that will go," Billy said slowly.

But Justin just shrugged.

"We'll get free drinks," he said.

"And a mob," Billy muttered, shaking his head.

"There's no way," Chip finally sputtered. "You're not old enough. You would have been like—"

"Twelve," Justin supplied when Chip stumbled on the math. "And I was. Just ask any of the rangers. I was—and am—the youngest ranger ever."

Madison frowned, looking at him.

"How is that even possible?" she asked. "I remember Turbo—you would have had to be a really tall twelve-year-old."

"Not really," Justin said. "That's the great thing about the Power of the Morphing Grid. There was this whole accelerated growth thing whenever I morphed. Best cover ever. No one ever suspected me of being a ranger—though I'm pretty sure a few people thought I was stalking the rangers…"

Billy smiled, shaking his head. The Mystic Force rangers were still dumbfounded by the discovery.

"What were they thinking letting a twelve-year-old become a ranger?" Vida asked, still not completely believing Justin.

Justin snorted.

"They didn't exactly let me," he said. "I kind of stumbled into it on accident—but that's a story for another time."

"I can't believe the rangers would let you join them," Nick said, shaking his head. "Why didn't someone stop you?"

"Because it wasn't their choice," Justin said stiffly. "The Power accepted me, so they had to accept me. It wasn't exactly something that could just be reversed."

"That had to be awkward fighting with people twice your age," Nick commented.

Justin immediately turned to glare at him, clearly offended by the comment for a reason they Mystic Force rangers didn't quite understand.

"You shouldn't make comments before you understand everything," Justin snapped. "And at least I didn't have mommy and daddy holding my hand the whole time."

The other Mystic Force rangers winced as Nick's eyes narrowed. He started to take a step forward toward Justin—he wasn't about to let the insult slide.

"Enough," Billy interrupted, holding up one hand to Nick as he placed the other on Justin's shoulder. "We are not here to compare histories or to imply superiority. We have each completed a great task that no one has the right to degrade. Please do not begin something you do not want to finish. We are here for a purpose and we should remain focused on that."

"Fine," Nick growled, stopping. "Then where is this red ranger of yours?"

"Right behind you," came the answer.

Xander, who was supposed to have been guarding their back, squeaked in surprise and spun. The rest of the team followed suit, all of them instinctively reaching for their wands. Nick, drawing his wand as he leapt forward, pushed Xander behind him in order to place himself between his team and the perceived threat. But they all froze in shock as they registered who they were actually seeing. Madison and Vida and, to an extent, Xander and Chip, recognized some more readily than others, but seeing them all together as a group gave them a fairly good idea of who they all were.

There were nine people standing there, all of them tense as they faced off against the Mystic Force team. Jason led the group and it was to him their gaze initially went before slowly shifting to the rest of the people there. He was tense, standing in a defensive position with one hand behind his back as though reaching for something. Trini was standing just behind him and to his left, her gaze fixed on the group as she stood silently watching them. A little further back a man they now recognized as Zach, though they hadn't realized who he was until they saw him amongst his friends. To Jason's right there was a gap and then a petite woman in pink whom Vida immediately recognized as Kimberly Hart. All three were echoing Jason's stance, one hand behind their back as if reaching for something Mystic Force couldn't see.

The other five were clearly with the first four, though standing slightly apart. Adam, who both girls knew from their brother's dojo, was leading that half of the group—though it did appear as though he was trying to fill two places rather than just one. A little behind and to his left, and to Zach's right, was Aisha, who they were all recognizing from the shop months before. Standing behind her was another woman Vida knew immediately on sight—Tanya Park. On the other side of Adam was Jason's other friend and the third instructor from the dojo, Rocky. Kat Hillard, a woman the twins vaguely recognized from past encounters with Jason's friends, was just behind him. Every one of the five were standing with arms up, odd silver bracelets flashing in the sunlight.

Behind Mystic Force, Billy had reacted in a similar way to Jason and the other three from the first group. Justin, on the other hand, now sported a bracelet on one wrist and was holding a key in the opposite hand. He seemed eager to react, balanced on the balls of his feet as he waited for something to happen.

For a few brief moments, no one spoke.

"Jason?" Vida finally stammered in shock, her eyes wide.

Jason nodded curtly.

"Vida, Madison," Jason said.

His voice was cold, the tone suggesting he really wasn't thrilled to see them despite his acknowledgement of their presence. Madison stepped forward slowly, eying the group surrounding her brother in hesitation. Nick put out his free hand to keep her behind him, the other hand tightly gripping his wand.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" Madison asked.

Her brother turned his head to look at her, not dropping his defensive stance as he answered.

"I was under the impression, from your never-ending letters, that you five wanted to meet with us," he said shortly. "Was I wrong?"

Vida frowned, shaking her head.

"We didn't send you any letters," she said. "And this is supposed to be a ranger meeting. So how did you hear about it and what are you doing here?"

Jason raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.

"Now, come on, sis," he said, using the nickname though there was no affection in his voice. "I know you're smarter than that. Figure it out—the answer is right in front of you."

She glared at him, but he didn't back down. Jason and everyone around him were still standing in defensive positions. Nick hadn't moved to put his wand away, either.

"You can't be saying what I think you are," Nick scoffed, shaking his head.

"Why can't I, rookie?" Jason snapped, his glare falling on Nick.

"Because you were in high school when all this happened," Vida snapped back before Nick could respond. "And we lived with you—there's no way you could have pulled it off living at home."

A slight smirk passed across Jason's face. The dark-skinned man dressed all in black, who they recognized from the Rock Porium some time before, snorted.

"And we didn't think aliens, monsters, or robots from space existed either," Zach smirked. "But they do."

Shooting a look at Zach, Jason turned his attention back to Nick, his gaze falling briefly to the wand the younger red ranger was still holding.

"You going to put that thing away, rookie?" he asked, nodding toward the wand. "Or are you going to break the rules already?"

"This is a trap," Nick growled. "I should never have agreed to come."

Jason rolled his eyes, but didn't relax.

"It's not a trap," he said shortly. "If we really wanted to trap you, we wouldn't have bothered sending Billy and Justin ahead—we would have just come to get you. You would have all been down and out before you knew what hit you."

Behind Mystic Force, Billy and Justin were slowly skirting around to join Jason's group. At the mention of Billy's name, and seeing him in the same place as her brother, Madison's eyes widened.

"Billy?" she repeated, turning to look at him. "No. It can't be."

He smiled slightly, nodding at her as he fell into place to Jason's right.

"It's not possible," she said faintly, staring at him.

Vida frowned.

"Maddy, what's—oh!" Vida's eyes widened, too, as she suddenly realized what her sister was implying.

Nick looked between the two girls who were now standing to either side of him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his grip tightening on his wand.

"Billy—Billy died," Madison stammered, not taking her eyes off of the man she had thought dead for years. "He died when we were ten—this isn't possible."

Billy smiled sadly at her, taking his place just to the right of Jason. Justin had fallen in place to Rocky's right.

"I sincerely apologize for the deception," he said. "But it was necessary given the situation. You see, I no longer reside on earth. At the time, my disappearance would have raised questions of my friends that none of us were prepared to answer…"

He paused, glancing around at the shocked looks on the young rangers' faces.

"My father does know the truth," he assured the girls. "And has since shortly after I went away."

They nodded mutely, still not sure how to respond.

"Last chance, rookie," Jason growled, drawing attention back to Nick. "Either put that thing away or we're out of here—we said no magic for a reason and we mean it. And if we leave you don't get a second chance."

Nick glared back at him, determined not to give in.

"Bowen," Leanbow said firmly. "You gave your word."

As Leanbow spoke, Daggeron stepped forward and placed a hand on the young red ranger's shoulder. Nick grimaced, but he slowly put the wand away. Every move said he wasn't happy about it. Once the wand was out of sight, Jason and his group relaxed a little. Hands came out from behind their backs and the odd bracelets suddenly disappeared as the group to Jason's right dropped their arms. Grumbling, Justin shoved the key he had been holding back into his pocket and his bracelet also disappeared.

"Better," Jason said, crossing his arms now as he regarded Nick.

"How did you do that?" Chip suddenly burst out, looking at Adam.

Dressed in green and black, Adam looked back at Chip in confusion.

"Do what?" he asked, not sure what Chip was talking about.

"The bracelet thing," Chip said excitedly. "With the flicking wrists and making them disappear."

Recognition flitted across Adam's face as he realized what Chip was referring to.

"You mean our morphers?" he said.

"Those are your morphers?" Chip exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

Nick shot a look at the overexcited yellow ranger.

"Chip," he said firmly.

"Right, sorry," Chip said, bringing himself back under control. "Still cool."

Madison was still shaking her head, looking at her older brother.

"I just—I still don't understand," she said. "None of this makes any sense."

Jason sighed.

"Madison, what part of this doesn't make sense?" he asked. "I thought we'd made everything quite clear. You wanted to meet with us, so here we are."

"No," she said, frustrated. "We wanted to meet with the original rangers—not you and your friends pulling some cruel joke to get back at us."

"Maddy," Trini said gently, finally speaking. "We are the original rangers."

"You can't be!" Madison burst out. "You had barely started high school. I don't believe you."

Trini's glance flickered to Jason who took a deep breath.

"You were never supposed to know," he said after a moment. "No one was. It's part of the Code that no one was ever to know who we were—or are. Being a ranger isn't about the glory or the praise—it's about protecting the people you're responsible for. It was about protecting you."

For a brief moment his hard gaze softened as he looked at his sisters, but then the mask was back in place.

"Don't you think we know that?" Nick snapped, glaring at Jason. "We just spent the last year defending the people we care about from dark magic and monsters determined to destroy the city. We're rangers whether you like it or not."

Jason crossed his arms, returning Nick's glare without faltering.

"Yes, you did," he said. "Congratulations—you're rangers. You've spent a year fighting the bad guys. But you know what? We've been doing the same nearly as long as your mentors."

He glanced briefly at Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron as he made that comment, nodding in recognition. The three older rangers had stayed fairly silent for the conversation, allowing their students to figure this out for themselves. But they returned Jason's nod, recognizing his acknowledgement that his problem wasn't with them.

"Did you guys really think you were the youngest rangers ever?" Adam asked.

The young Mystic Force rangers exchanged looks that made it clear they had believed that. Trini sighed.

"You five are not the youngest team to ever be accepted by the Power," she said.

"Nope," Justin added, smirking. "I've got that covered. The youngest ever accepted—and likely to hold that record forever."

"Justin, now is not the time," Kat said, looking at him.

"Yeah, I know," he grumbled. "But the rookie started it…"

Kat raised an eyebrow and Justin sighed, falling silent.

"I still don't believe it," Xander said, shaking his head. "Nick's right. This is a trick or a trap of some kind."

"It's no trick," Jason growled, glaring at the group in general. "We don't need to be here if you don't want us. But if the five of you want to be a part of the ranger legacy, then you need to understand a few things. You don't have to like who's in charge. In fact, you don't even need to like the way things are run or all of the decisions that are made. But you will respect us or you'll find yourselves without friends among the rangers."

"And just who is in charge?" Nick challenged, not taking his eyes off of Jason.

"I am," Jason said firmly. "Whether any of you like it or not. And that is not going to change anytime soon."

Nick scoffed, shaking his head.

"No," Vida said adamantly. "I don't believe you. I won't believe you. You're lying to us."

Jason turned to his sister, starting to lose patience with the group.

"What is it going to take to make the five of you believe us?" he asked. "Because I'm not playing this game all afternoon."

"You're going to have to come up with some undeniable proof," Nick growled. "And good luck with that. I don't know how you got the letters, but there's no way you can pull real proof out of thin air."

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"You want proof?" he said. "Fine. You can have your proof."

Glancing over, he caught Adam's eye and nodded. Adam returned the nod and then Jason did the same with Justin, the younger ranger breaking into a grin as he returned Jason's nod. Turning back to look at Mystic Force, Jason smirked a little.

"It's Morphin' Time," he said.

Mystic Force couldn't do anything but stare in shock as the rangers in front of them moved. Jason, Trini, Billy, Kim, and Zach immediately reached behind themselves, their hands coming forward to show their morphers as they made their calls.

"Mastodon!" said Zach.

"Pterodactyl!" called Kim.

"Triceratops!" exclaimed Billy.

"Saber Tooth Tiger!" cried Trini.

"Tyrannosaurus Rex!" growled Jason.

Aisha, partially bridging the gap, moved alone.

"Ninja Ranger Power Now!" she cried, moving quickly. "Yellow Ranger Power!"

Adam led the next group as they moved in unison, flicking their wrists to call their morphers out.

"Zeo Ranger One—Pink!" Kat exclaimed.

"Zeo Ranger Two—Yellow!" cried Tanya.

"Zeo Ranger Three—Green!" shouted Adam.

"Zeo Ranger Four—Blue!" Rocky called.

Last and alone, Justin grinned as he made his morphing call, pulling out his key and calling the bracelet into sight.

"Shift into Turbo!" he shouted. "Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!"

No one moved as the rangers finished morphing, facing off against the shocked Mystic Force. Nick had demanded proof—now he had it. There was no possible way for them to have faked what just happened. For a moment, no one spoke. Then Jason moved, taking off his helmet and tucking it under his arm. The rest of the rangers followed suit.

"Proof enough for you, rookie?" Jason smirked, looking straight at Nick.

Nick was momentarily speechless, sputtering as he tried to come up with a retort.

"Oh my gosh," Vida said, stunned. "I can't—I can't believe it. You actually are—why didn't you tell us?"

Jason rolled his eyes.

"I already told you, Vida," he said. "I couldn't tell you. The Code is very clear on that and I would never knowingly break it."

"Ok, fine," she said. "But why couldn't you tell us after? After we were rangers, I mean. You could have told us and then we wouldn't have freaked out so much about you keeping our secret."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I could have," he admitted. "But were you really ready to hear it at that point?"

"Yes," Vida said adamantly. "Yes we were."

"No, we weren't," Madison countered.

"Maddy!" Vida exclaimed, looking at her sister.

"What?" Madison said. "We weren't. Think about it, sis. If we had known they were there, what would we have done? Could we have done what we did without running to them for help?"

Vida started to argue, and then stopped.

"Oh," she said slowly. "I didn't think about that."

"Mmm hmm," Madison said, nodding. "If we had known they were there to help us, we would have wanted them to fix all of our problems for us."

Vida sighed. She knew her sister was right.

"That's why we try to never make contact with a team until they have established themselves," Kim said, speaking up. "But we were always ready to step in if you really needed help. Dino Thunder was on standby the entire time."

Xander snorted.

"Dino Thunder hates us," he said. "They threatened us."

"Yeah, they did," Zach laughed. "And it was great. You should see the original letter—the threats were worded a lot more creatively. And then their blue edited those out…"

"Their blue did?" Aisha said, raising an eyebrow. "Or their yellow?"

"Ok, fair point," Zach admitted, grinning sheepishly. "Blue spellchecked, yellow edited the content."

"I don't want to hear about those four right now," Jason growled, interrupting. "I've heard enough from them the past several months to last a lifetime."

"Wait a minute," Nick said, finally rejoining the conversation. "You're in contact with them?"

Jason rolled his eyes.

"Of course I'm in contact with them," he growled. "I'm in contact with all of them. It's part of being in charge. Though there are plenty of days I'd rather not talk to any of them."

"Aww… Come on, Jason," Zach grinned. "Your life would be boring without us—especially some of the younger ones. Specifically certain brightly colored speed demons and company."

Jason shot a glare at him, but Zach kept grinning.

"I don't want to deal with any of them right now," he said shortly, shaking his head. "The only ones I want to be dealing with right now are them."

He pointed back at Mystic Force who frowned at his comment.

"Not that I really even want to be doing that…" Jason muttered, dropping his hand and shaking his head.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Nick demanded. "Dealing with us? We aren't a problem to be dealt with and I don't appreciate the implication that we are. We don't have to be here."

"You wanted this meeting," Jason snapped. "Not us. So yes—we're dealing with you."

As the younger rangers struggled for a response to Jason's comment, Udonna took over the silence.

"Chip, are you alright?" she asked gently, looking at the young yellow ranger.

He'd been silent since the other rangers had morphed, frowning as he studied the group.

"What?" he said, glancing at her. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. It's just—well, aren't you missing a lot of rangers?"

Chip directed the question toward the rangers facing them.

"What do you mean?" Tanya asked, frowning.

"Well," he said slowly, taking another quick look around. "You're missing all of your white rangers, most of ninjetti, red Zeo, and—ok, I'm really not sure what to think about Turbo even being here…"

"I'm here cause I want to be," Justin said. "And I'm the last Turbo ranger left."

Mystic Force paled and Justin realized what he'd just said.

"Oh! They're alive," he quickly reassured the shocked rangers. "They're just in the ship right now."

"Ship?" Xander repeated, confused.

"Yep," Justin said. "They moved from Turbo to Space. I didn't go with them because I didn't want to leave my dad alone. So they got Andros—he wasn't one of us before. They found him—ok, I guess he found them…And then he tried to get rid of them but it didn't work and—"

"Justin, save it for later," Jason interrupted.

Justin quickly fell silent and Jason turned back to Mystic Force.

"The point is," he said. "Turbo moved on to new powers and abilities, leaving their Turbo powers behind and making Justin the last one to hold them."

"You can have more than one power?" Chip said in surprise, his eyes wide.

"Yep," Rocky grinned. "Most of us have held at least two. Most of ninjetti moved on to become Zeo."

"Except me," Aisha said. "I went to Africa—Tanya took my place."

Tanya smiled at Aisha, nodding.

"Ok, then who exactly are the ninjetti rangers?" Chip asked.

Adam, Kat, Aisha, Billy, Rocky, and Kim all raised their hands. Chip frowned, looking back and forth between Kim and Kat in confusion.

"But you're both wearing pink," he said slowly. "And there was only one pink…"

"I was only ninjetti for a short time," Kim said. "Then I passed my powers to Kat."

"Oh," he said. "But, even if you held multiple powers, you're still missing a few rangers. I mean, you have no white rangers at all. And Zeo red isn't here. Is that who Ryan is? And why isn't he here?"

Jason frowned.

"Ryan?" he repeated. "Why would Ryan be here?"

"Because he delivered the letter," Xander said, crossing his arms.

Some of the originals were laughing to themselves, though most just looked confused as to why Mystic Force thought Ryan was Zeo red.

"Ryan a red?" Zach snorted. "As if. I would love to hear you tell him that."

"He has to be red," Chip said frowned. "All of you clearly wear your colors and he was wearing red shirt."

The originals all looked to Jason for an answer. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Yes, Ryan was wearing a red shirt," he said. "But that's because he borrowed it from his red. Apparently he had just started laundry when I called him away and he didn't have a clean or dry shirt in his color."

"So then what color is he?" Madison asked.

"Titanium," Trini supplied. "Definitely not a red. Not that he isn't capable of it, but he's—well…"

"Girl, he's just too much a lone wolf to be a red," Aisha said. "Put him in charge long term and he wouldn't know what to do with himself. The concept of team isn't exactly ingrained in him after all those years with—well, away."

She didn't elaborate on her explanation, leaving the Mystic Force group to draw their own conclusions.

"Is titanium even a color?" Vida said, raising an eyebrow.

"Technically, no," Zach grinned. "Neither is silver—or gold. I personally call them the metals."

Jason shot a glare at him, but Zach just smirked.

"Zach, shut up," Jason growled. "Now is not the time."

Zach sighed, but didn't argue.

"Ok, so Ryan isn't your missing red," Chip said. "But you're still missing rangers. Where are they?"

Jason raised an eyebrow, looking at Chip expectantly as he waited for him to figure it out. Chip frowned, glancing around at the rangers.

"Or were the original white and ninjetti white the same person?" he asked.

Several of the rangers nodded.

"So then you're missing two rangers," Madison said.

Jason shook his head.

"Try again," he said.

"Wait a minute," Vida said. "So you're saying that the original white ranger was also ninjetti white and Zeo red?"

"You got it," Rocky said, though he wasn't smiling anymore.

None of the rangers were. Their faces were serious again for reasons the Mystic Force team didn't quite understand.

"So he was three?" Chip said in surprise.

"More," Adam said, not answering the question straight out. "I held three powers myself. It's possible."

"And it's not even close to the record," Zach smirked. "And I doubt anyone is ever going to beat it—though Billy comes a close second for longest actual time as a ranger."

They looked at Billy in surprise, but he just nodded in response. Deciding the newest team had enough proof, Jason glanced around and caught Adam's eye. Adam nodded in agreement.

"Power down," Jason said.

The rest of the group echoed him and soon they were all back in normal clothes.

"What about you, Jason?" Vida asked curiously, looking at her brother. "Were you the longest running ranger?"

He shook his head.

"I don't even come close," he said. "I left for the Peace Conferences, remember? Though I did come back as the gold zeo ranger for a little while, as Zach already pointed out."

"You really were the gold ranger?" Madison said, seeming surprised.

"Why else would I have come back early?" Jason said.

"Because your schedule for the second semester got messed up," Vida said. "I remember mom arguing on the phone with someone about it."

Jason smirked.

"That's because Billy messed with it for me to give me an excuse to come back," he said. "They needed help and T—and it was me they asked."

The twins exchanged disbelieving looks.

"It's still so hard to believe," Madison said quietly, looking at Jason. "All this time and we never knew."

"You weren't meant to know," he said, repeating his earlier statement.

She nodded.

"Ok," Chip said slowly. "So the two white rangers and red Zeo are all the same person? Doesn't that kind of make him one of the greatest rangers ever?"

"You could say that," Justin commented. "Most of us certainly think so."

Jason snorted, shaking his head.

"Don't start that again," he said. "He doesn't need that kind of encouragement—his ego is already big enough."

"And so is yours," Trini said drily.

Jason shot her a look but she just raised an eyebrow.

"But where is he?" Chip finally asked. "If he's one of the greatest rangers ever, why isn't he here?"

For a moment no one answered as all of the originals glanced to Jason. He studied Mystic Force, trying to decide how he wanted to answer.

"He hasn't been around much lately," he finally said.

"Did something happen to him?" Udonna asked softly, watching Jason closely.

"Yes," Jason said. "You could say that."

"What happened?" Madison asked.

Jason looked at her, a flicker of agitation passing across his face and briefly breaking the expressionless mask he was trying so hard to hold. Still none of the other rangers spoke, leaving it to their leader to decide what to say to the new rangers.

"He was betrayed," Jason said after a moment, pausing to see their reactions. "He was betrayed by people he was close to—people he considered family."

"Oh!" Madison gasped.

Vida and Chip looked just as surprised as she did. Nick and Xander, on the other hand, were now looking at Jason suspiciously.

"We haven't seen him much since then," Trini added softly, sighing.

"And did he tell you who betrayed him?" Nick asked, staring straight at Jason.

Jason returned the stare.

"As a matter of fact, no," he said. "He refused to tell us who it was—but we know."

"And have you done something about it?" Nick said, crossing his arms again.

Jason eyed the younger red ranger.

"No, we haven't," he said.

"Some teammate you are then," Nick scoffed. "If anyone betrayed one of my teammates like that I would be just letting it go."

"Is that so?" Jason said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, that's so," Nick snapped. "No one hurts my team and gets away with it. And if you were any kind of leader you wouldn't be letting it go like this either."

Jason raised an eyebrow, but didn't immediately react to the blatant insult.

"Then what do you recommend, rookie?" Jason asked coldly.

"Go after them!" Nick exclaimed. "Bring them to justice."

"Even if they were someone you considered family?" Jason countered.

"Especially if you thought they were family," Nick confirmed, looking straight at Jason. "Because family should know better."

Most of the rangers behind Jason were shaking their heads now as they looked at the young red. Billy was rubbing a hand across his face while Zach, Rocky, and Justin were all struggling to keep their amusement at the conversation off of their faces. Behind Nick, the three teachers were frowning. They could tell something was missing from this conversation. There was an important piece of information missing that they hadn't quite figured out. Xander was nodding, firmly in agreement with everything Nick was saying, while the other three just listened quietly.

"Isn't that right, Jason?" Nick asked, looking at Jason expectantly.

"Yes," Jason agreed. "Family should know better."

"So then why haven't you done anything?" Xander inserted.

Jason shot a glare at him, but Nick nodded.

"He's right," Nick said. "Why haven't you?"

"Because we can't," Trini said pointedly, looking at Nick.

"Why not?" Nick demanded. "Is it because of who they are?"

"Exactly," Jason growled.

"Fine," smirked Nick. "Then let us. We'll do something."

"Sure you will," Jason scoffed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, we will," Nick said shortly. "We'll do what you apparently can't. So tell us who they are—we'll bring them to justice."

Most of the other rangers with Jason sighed as they shook their heads at Nick. Zach snorted, quickly covering it up with a cough—Rocky and Justin did the same thing. Billy and Trini both looked at the young Mystic Force rangers with sympathy. The younger group had no idea where this conversation was going or what was about to happen.

"Sure," Jason said doubtfully.

"We will," Nick insisted. "So who was it, Jason? Who betrayed your white ranger?"

Nick was looking at him confidently, waiting for Jason to admit to the betrayal in front of his friends. He was sure that the man he now knew was the original red ranger was responsible for the betrayal. He had also never given up on the idea that Jason was working with an evil ranger.

"Was it you?" Nick persisted when Jason didn't immediately answer. "Or have you still not told your friends you're on the wrong side?"

Now several of the original rangers really did burst out laughing at Nick.

"You're crazy, rookie," Rocky snorted. "Jason couldn't pull off evil if he tried—not unless there's magic involved and someone else is in control."

Jason shot a glare at Rocky, but the other red ranger just grinned.

"It wasn't me," Jason growled, turning back to Nick. "I haven't betrayed anyone."

"Sure," Nick scoffed. "Then who was it?"

Jason paused for another moment and then gestured at the five young rangers in front of him.

"It was you," he said grimly. "The five of you."

The stared at him in shock, momentarily speechless at the accusation.

"What are you talking about?" Nick sputtered in outrage. "We've never even met him!"

"Haven't you?" Jason growled. "Are you sure about that?"

"Of course he is," Vida snapped. "When would we have met him?"

"Think about it," Justin snapped back at her.

He was glaring at them now, all traces of amusement gone.

"You've known your brother and his friends your whole lives," he said to the girls. "Look closely. Who's missing?"

"What?" Vida frowned, looking at him before glancing around the group.

"Who's missing?" Justin repeated. "Come on, now. It shouldn't be that hard—even for the five of you."

Nick growled at the insult, but Madison suddenly gasped.

"No," she said, adamantly shaking her head. "No. It can't be."

"What?" Nick frowned, glancing at her.

She shook her head again.

"Vida," she said, looking at her sister expectantly.

"What?" Vida said. "I don't get it. Who is he talking about?"

Justin rolled his eyes.

"Ok, let me explain it in a different way for those of you with a lesser intelligence," he said. "Think big, strong, fearsome—teddy bear..."

Zach snorted and then started coughing for real as he choked on his laugh. Kim rolled her eyes and reached over to slap him on the back as he doubled over. Mystic Force, with the exception of Madison, just continued to look confused.

"Alright, fine," Justin sighed. "Think dark hair, dark eyes, and constantly loses—well, everything."

"Yes," Zach choked out, still laughing. "Exactly."

Vida's eyes widened as she finally got the hint.

"No," she said adamantly. "Tommy can't be him."

The three boys looked at her in shock and Nick's eyes narrowed as he spun back to face the original rangers.

"Not a chance," he snarled. "Tommy is evil—he's already proven that. There's no way he could be any of those rangers."

"He's not evil!" Jason snarled, clenching his fists. "What is it going to take to get that through your heads?"

All of the young Mystic Force rangers were glaring back at him now. Udonna, Leanbow, and Daggeron were watching more hesitantly. They had yet to hear anything about this from anyone other than their students. Now they stayed silent, not wanting to take sides without having all of the information.

"He attacked us!" Xander retorted.

"I've heard about all the things the white rangers, and red zeo, did from Maddy and V," Nick snapped at Jason. "And I've heard all about the green ranger, too. There is no way Tommy could be both. Tommy is evil—"

"Enough!" Jason roared, momentarily silencing the younger rangers. "Tommy isn't evil and I'm not going to sit here and listen to the five of you insult him."

"Jason—" Vida started to say.

"Don't," Jason snapped. "Tommy was the green ranger. I won't say he wasn't. He did things he's not proud of and that he has regretted every day since. But he hasn't been that person in a long time."

"Says the man helping him," Nick snapped back. "Tommy—"

"Tommy is a good man," Jason snarled at him. "Tommy has saved countless lives by putting his own on the line. Tommy nearly sacrificed everything on multiple occasions to keep some villain from destroying the world. Tommy put all of his time and energy into fixing anything he had destroyed. Tommy dedicated his life to the rangers and everything we stand for. Tommy's the one who was a teammate to every single one of us here. And if it wasn't for him, most of us wouldn't even be standing here today."

"None of us would be here," Trini said softly as Jason paused to take a breath. "None of us would have survived without him."

The rest of the originals were nodding in agreement. They had all been saved by Tommy at one point or another.

"That doesn't change what he did!" Nick exclaimed. "He attacked Maddy!"

"Did he really?" Jason challenged, turning to look at his sister. "Did he, Madison? Did Tommy attack you?"

She looked back and forth between Jason and Nick, her eyes wide as she tried to stammer out a reply.

"Answer me, Madison!" Jason demanded. "Did Tommy actually attack you that day in the park? Tell me the truth."

She hesitated.

"I—I don't know," she cried, shaking her head. "Everything happened so fast. We found out he was the green ranger and then he found me alone at the shop…I was so nervous and I didn't know what to do…"

She stopped again, taking a shaky breath as Jason continued to watch her. Everyone's attention was on her now.

"What happened?" Jason growled impatiently.

"We were walking," she stammered. "We were walking and he wanted me to listen and—oh…"

Her face fell as she realized what they had done.

"He wasn't going to…" she mumbled. "He just wanted me to give him a chance—to listen. It wasn't a threat, he was begging for another chance…and we attacked him…"

She was crying now, tears streaming down her face as the weight of what they had done hit her.

"We wouldn't have attacked him if we didn't think he was a threat!" Nick exclaimed stubbornly, shaking his head. "And he attacked us with magic!"

"Perhaps he did not have a choice," Udonna said softly.

"Like Matoombo…" Vida said softly as the realization dawned on her. "Guys, it's just like with Matoombo."

Nick froze, as did Chip and Xander. They had all misjudged Matoombo once and now he was a dear friend to them all.

"Or Koragg?" Daggeron added, placing a hand on Leanbow's shoulder as he looked at Nick.

"It's not the same," Nick insisted, though he was quickly running out of arguments. "You have to want to change—to want to not be that way anymore."

"Like you, Bowen?" Leanbow said. "Did you truly want to attack that village—or me?"

Shaking his head, Nick fell silent. He didn't have an argument for that.

"Tommy never had a choice," Jason snapped. "And you didn't give him a chance to explain that. Instead you attacked him, not the other way around. He didn't do anything except try to explain—and you didn't give him a chance."

Madison nodded, crying harder as Vida put an arm around her.

"Jason, stop," Vida said, glaring at her brother. "You weren't there. Maybe we made a mistake, but you don't have to—"

"Don't start with me, Vida," he interrupted. "I'm not any happier with the rest of you."

"Stop," Nick said, stepping up in front of his team. "Leave them alone."

"What now, rookie?" Jason snapped. "Got another ridiculous excuse?"

"No," Nick said, shaking his head. "Just don't blame them. This isn't their fault. It—it's mine. I'm to blame for what happened. They were just following my orders…"

His teammates looked at him in surprise, but their mentors and the originals were watching in approval now. Nick was finally listening to what they were saying. Jason took a deep breath.

"Yes, they were," Jason said, crossing his arms. "And you're right, a good chunk of the blame lies with you. You are their leader and that means taking responsibility for the actions of the team."

Nick nodded, waiting and ready to take whatever Jason was going to throw at him.

"However," Jason continued. "That does not excuse the rest of you. Every single one of you is partially at fault in this. Nick, you may claim responsibility for this, but they have to be responsible for their own actions in what happened."

His gaze hardened as he looked at Xander.

"Especially you," he growled.

He pointed at Xander who looked back in surprise.

"You're lucky to even be here," Jason growled. "Because you wouldn't be if Tommy wasn't more forgiving than I am. He's the only reason we didn't come after all of you that first night. We had the right, you know."

"What did I do?" Xander cried, completely shocked.

"I saw the bruises!" Jason snarled. "Tying him up just wasn't enough, was it? You had to try and make sure moving wasn't an option by putting the vines around his neck!"

Xander's eyes widened in shock and his gaze flickered briefly to Madison who had just started sobbing even harder. Nick had taken her from Vida and she was crying into his shirt now as her twin whispered quietly to her, rubbing her back.

"That wasn't me," Xander protested. "It—"

He cut himself off, choosing not to say what had actually happened.

"Then who was it?" Jason demanded. "I don't see anyone else with the habit of tying people up with vines."

Xander glared at him, clenching his fists. His eyes flickered briefly to Madison again, but he didn't say a word as his gaze hardened, ready to take the blame anyways. But Tanya, watching a little more closely than some of the others, caught his glance and sighed.

"Oh, honey," she said quietly, looking at the crying Madison. "Why did it have to be you?"

Jason froze, his head whipping around to look at Tanya in shock. He followed her gaze back to his sister and started shaking his head.

"No," he said in disbelief. "No. You wouldn't."

Eyes filled with tears, Madison looked up at her older brother.

"Jason, I'm sorry," she cried. "I didn't mean to. Everything just happened so fast and—"

"Do you understand what you did?" Jason demanded, breaking out of his moment of shock. "You almost killed him!"

"Jason—" she said.

"I don't want to hear it!" he shouted, clenching his fists. "One wrong move—do you know what could have happened? One wrong move and you could have snapped his neck! There would have been no calling for help, no saving him. And then you chased him through the woods—you hunted him with the intention of hurting him when you caught him!"

"Jason, please," Madison sobbed.

"No!" he snarled. "You have no idea what you've done. You of all people. Tommy would have died before he hurt a hair on your head—and you almost killed him!"

"Jason, stop!" Vida exclaimed. "This isn't nece—"

"Be quiet, Vida," Jason snapped. "You have all disgraced your positions as rangers. You tried to kill someone who would have died before hurting any of you—or any of us. I just—I can't even look at you right now."

"Jason," Madison pleaded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen…"

"I'm done with this," he growled. "I'm done with all of this. With you, your team—everything. We never should have come. This meeting is over."

Spinning, he stalked away toward the trees without looking back.

"Jason, please!" Madison cried, pulling away from Nick to chase her brother.

But Trini intercepted her.

"Maddy, don't," she said, stopping the young blue ranger.

"But I can't just let him go like this," Madison said desperately, watching her brother's retreating form.

"You have to," Trini said, glancing over her shoulder.

Several of the other rangers, Kim in the lead, had taken off after Jason. The rest had fallen in closer together, grouping with each other as they looked back and forth between Jason and the Mystic Force rangers.

"But…" Madison protested.

"Maddy, you know how passionate he can be," Trini said gently, placing her hands on the younger ranger's shoulders. "And how angry he can get. It's part of who he is—both as a red and as a person. He just needs a little bit of space."

"He hates me now…" Madison mumbled, her gaze falling to the ground.

"He doesn't hate you," Trini said firmly. "But this is hard for him. Tommy is his best friend and they've been through a lot together. And what you did—"

Trini stopped, taking a deep breath as Madison choked back another sob. Vida had joined them, her gaze still fixed in the direction Jason had disappeared.

"Just be patient," Trini continued. "Give him some space to calm down and we can keep talking. Ok?"

Not having much of a choice right now, Madison nodded mutely. Behind Trini, Kim came running back from the trees.

"Trini!" she called, running up to them. "Trini, you need to go after him."

Trini turned to look at Kim. She was shaking her head.

"He's not listening to me," Kim sighed. "He needs you—or Tommy. But good luck getting him on the phone…"

Trini sighed, nodding.

"I'm coming," she said.

Pausing briefly, she looked back at the girls.

"Just give us a little while," she said. "He'll calm down. I promise."

Turning away again, she took off in the direction Jason had gone and disappeared into the trees. With the rest of the rangers between them and their brother, Madison and Vida reluctantly retreated back to their own team. Madison was still visibly upset, though the tears had subsided a little. All of the guilt she had been trying to ignore since the whole thing started had come crashing back. Nick held out an arm to her as the twins rejoined them and Madison let him pull her closer, tucking her against his side.

"I still can't believe it," Chip muttered, numbly shaking his head.

He'd essentially been in shock since Jason had told them about Tommy, barely saying a word. To find out that he had helped attack and hunt the man who had been his hero for most of his life was not easy.

"Maddy, are you ok?" Nick asked, hugging her tightly to his side.

She shrugged, sniffling as she leaned against him.

"I don't know," she mumbled. "I—I really—I can't believe we did that to him…"

"Maddy, we didn't know," Vida said, trying to make her sister feel better. "There's no way we could have known."

"That doesn't make it better," Madison cried. "It felt wrong then and now I know why…We never should have done it…"

The others were nodding in agreement.

"But we can't change it now," Vida said sadly.

"No, we can't," Nick agreed, looking around at his teammates. "But we're going to fix it—somehow…"

"If you want to repair the damage you have done," Udonna said quietly. "Then your first step needs to be asking Tommy for his forgiveness. For, without that, you cannot hope to repair the relationships you have damaged."

Vida and Madison nodded mutely.

"But he's not even here," Xander pointed out. "How can we apologize if we can't see him?"

Madison's head jerked up suddenly.

"But he is here," she said, brightening just a little. "Here in Reefside."

Vida's eyes widened.

"You're right, sis," she said excitedly. "And he doesn't live far away. We can just go to his house."

"That's a great idea," Nick said approvingly. "We'll just drive over there."

But Madison was already shaking her head.

"But what if he doesn't want to see us?" she fretted. "What if he won't talk to us?"

"Then we'll make him," Nick said firmly, turning Madison to look at him. "He needs to at least hear our apology—even if he doesn't want to accept it."

She nodded, still hesitant.

"Alright, let's go," she said. "But wait—what if he's not home?"

"Call him," Xander suggested. "See where he is."

"I really doubt he's taking our phone calls right now," Vida said. "Would you if someone did what we did to you?"

Xander sighed.

"Yeah, I guess not…" he mumbled.

"We're still going to give it a shot," Nick said firmly. "We'll go over and, if he isn't home, we'll wait for him. He can't stay away forever."

"Nick's right," Vida said. "Let's go. We have to at least try."

"Yeah," Madison agreed. "Let's go—and hurry."

The whole group turned and started for their vehicles. Then Chip stopped, glancing back over his shoulders.

"Guys?" he said. "What about the rest of the rangers?"

The team stopped, turning to look at Chip and the rangers behind him—except Leanbow, Daggeron, and Udonna who continued on to the vehicles. None of the originals were watching them as they talked quietly among themselves, their gazes turned toward the trees rather than the other rangers behind them. The fact that they weren't closely watching the new team was a testament to just how concerned they were about Jason.

"I'm pretty sure they're done with us today, Chip," Vida sighed. "Jason is mad beyond belief right now."

"He'll calm down eventually," Madison added. "And then he'll call us. It's not like they don't know where we are. They've known all along. They've known everything this whole time…"

"I guess," he said slowly. "But we said we wouldn't leave until the meeting was over…"

"It'll be fine," Vida assured him. "Besides, Jason already ended the meeting. So let's do what Trini said and give him some space. He'll call us when he's ready to talk."

"If he's ever ready to talk to us again…" Madison mumbled.

"Maddy, let's focus on Tommy first," Nick said. "Then we'll handle your brother. Besides, haven't you told us that Tommy is a lot better at talking Jason into something than the other way around? If we can get Tommy back on our side, he'll talk some sense into your brother."

"You're right," Madison sighed, still shooting another anxious glance toward the trees. "Let's go talk to Tommy."

"Do you remember how to get there?" Vida asked her sister as they all hurried toward the vehicles again.

"Not from here," Madison admitted. "But if we can get to the school I think I can get us there—maybe… he does live in the middle of nowhere…"

"Then we'll drive in circles until we get there," Nick said firmly. "So let's get out of here."

When they reached the vehicles, the three older rangers were already ready to go.

"And this is where we leave you for now," Daggeron said as they came walking over.

"What?" Nick frowned, looking at them in surprise.

"This is your problem to solve," Leanbow said, looking at his son. "And we do not wish to overwhelm Tommy by following you there."

"So we are returning home," Udonna said softly. "However, should you have need of us, we will come to your aid."

The younger rangers nodded, not arguing with their mentors. They knew this was something they needed to deal with on their own. So, climbing into or onto their respective vehicles, the group split up and headed in opposite directions.


	53. Alternate ending chap 48

"Stupid," Jason muttered, pacing back and forth between the trees. "I can't believe—How didn't I see it? I should've—she just—mmm…"

He growled, continuing to mutter to himself agitatedly as he paced.

"It should've been obvious," he growled, shaking his head. "She almost—and he didn't—and now they just—agh!"

Whipping around, he lashed out at the closest object—which just happened to be a tree. His punch connected straight with the trunk, causing him to stumble backward in pain and shock.

"Ah!" he gasped, jerking away from the tree and pulling his hand close.

"Well, now," a familiar voice said from behind him. "That was—brilliant."

"Now is not the time, Trini," he snapped, turning to look at his wife as he slowly tried flexing his hand.

"I think it is," she said, walking over to him.

"I really don't want to talk right now," he growled, glaring at her.

"Fine," she said shortly. "Now let me see your hand."

"My hand is fine," he said.

"Mmm hmm," she said, taking his wrist anyways. "I'm sure it is—because you punch trees on a daily basis without ill effects. Jason, you don't have ranger strength anymore without being morphed. Though I'm fairly certain the tree would have won regardless."

He glowered at her, but didn't pull his hand away. Wincing as she probed gently, he shook his head.

"It's not going to work," he said.

"What's not?" she asked. "Your hand? I don't think you did quite that much damage to it."

"No," he snapped. "This. I don't want to talk."

"Then don't," she said.

"Stop it!" he exclaimed.

"Jason, I have to make sure your hand is alright," she said patiently, not looking up at him or letting go of his hand.

"I know what you're trying to do," he said. "You want me to come back and talk to them and forgive them because they didn't know what they were doing and they're sorry now. Sorry to burst that bubble, but it's not happening."

"Fine," she said, not arguing. "Then don't. Besides, they haven't actually apologized to anyone."

He looked down at her in surprise, expecting her to have argued with him.

"I don't think it's broken," she said, looking up at him now.

"What?" he frowned.

"Your hand," she said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think it's broken. But we should probably get it x-rayed just in case."

"Trini, I'm not going to the emergency room right now," he groaned.

"No, you're not," she said. "You have a meeting to finish, first. Then we can take you to the emergency room."

"No I don't," he growled. "I told them we were done. The meeting is finished."

"And I told them it wasn't," Trini countered. "So now you have to go finish it."

Jason groaned, rubbing his uninjured hand over his face.

"What do I even say to them?" he muttered. "I can't—I can't talk to them."

"Well, you have to," she said, crossing her arms.

"Why?" he growled.

"Because you're not going to be happy until you do," she said. "Until you've fixed things with them."

"This isn't about me, Trini!" he snapped. "It's about Tommy!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "Then because Tommy won't be happy until you do—and you can't tell me I'm wrong on that."

Jason opened his mouth to protest and then shut it.

"I should've just let Conner kill them when I had a chance," he muttered.

"That's still an option," Trini said, raising an eyebrow. "We can call them. I'm sure the four of them can come up with a variety of creative ways to deal with the entire team."

Jason took a deep breath, shaking his head.

"Tempting as that is," he sighed. "I can't deal with the four of them right now. I really can't. It's bad enough having Justin here…"

"Oh, thanks," someone interrupted from behind them.

Jason groaned.

"Speaking of," he muttered, turning to look at Justin. "What?"

"I need to tell you guys something," Justin said slowly, trying to judge how irritable Jason was at that particular moment.

"Can't it wait a few minutes?" Trini asked, glaring at him.

"Ummm… no," he said, shaking his head. "It can't. Because they're already gone."

Jason and Trini frowned, exchanging looks.

"Who's gone?" Jason asked.

"They are," said Justin, gesturing behind him. "Them. They're all gone."

"Justin, are cars are that way," Jason said, pointing behind him toward the hidden tunnel entrance that eventually led to Tommy's house. "And no one passed us."

"Not them them," Justin exclaimed in frustration. "The other them!"

Trini sighed.

"Justin, you aren't making any sense," she said. "And I've been translating Billy since high school."

He groaned.

"Mystic Force is gone!" he burst out.

Jason and Trini both looked at him in shock.

"What?" Jason growled.

"They're gone," Justin said again. "We were waiting for you to come back and they were a little ways away talking and then we turned back to check on them and they were all climbing on their bike things or whatever they came here in and taking off down the road toward town—well, most of them headed toward town. I don't know where the other three were heading."

"They were heading toward town?" Jason exclaimed.

"Yeah, why?" Justin asked.

Jason didn't answer immediately, taking off at a run toward where the rest of the rangers were waiting for him just outside the tree line.

"Jason, what's the problem?" Justin repeated, running after him with Trini.

"Briarwood is in the other direction," he growled.

"Ok," Justin said, frowning. "Your point?"

"Justin, Tommy lives in town," Trini said.

Justin's eyes widened and he picked up his speed, catching up to Jason as he started shouting for the others.

"Guys, we gotta go!" he shouted, waving for them to follow him. "Back to the tunnels. Let's move!"

For a brief moment, none of the rangers moved. Justin skidded to a temporary stop next to Jason. But the red ranger didn't give him a chance to collect himself because he was already bolting back the way they came.

"Move!" Jason shouted over his shoulder.

The rest of the rangers leapt into motion, following their leader without any further hesitation. Justin started to follow and then froze again.

"Blaster!" he exclaimed, bolting in the other direction.

"Justin!" Jason yelled.

"Just a second!" Justin responded.

Breaking the tree line again, he ran toward the parking lot waving his arms at his car and shouting as loudly as he could.

"Blaster!" he shouted. "Go find Lightning! I'll meet you there!"

Hearing the sound of Blaster beeping in acknowledgement, Justin spun and bolted back after the others. He had a lot of ground to cover to catch up to them. By the time he caught up, he was gasping for breath.

"I—need—to go—to the gym—more often," he panted, running alongside Rocky now. "Or run—with Tommy…"

Rocky laughed, shaking his head at the younger ranger.

"Keep running, kid," he said. "We're almost to the tunnel."

"If I die," Justin gasped. "Just—leave me—come back—later…"

Rocky snorted, nearly tripping over a tree root as he laughed at his young counterpart.

"Jason, what's going on?" Adam called as they approached the tunnel entrance. "Where did Mystic Force go?"

"They're heading for Tommy's house," Jason called over his shoulder, not slowing down.

"So?" Rocky said. "He's not even there."

"But Hayley and the babies are!" Aisha snapped, smacking Rocky on the arm.

He winced, but started running harder as he realized his wife was right.

"Tommy is there," Jason growled, panting himself. "He got home the day the babies were born—wasn't going to tell all of you 'til he had a chance to get himself settled with Hayley and the girls."

"Jason!" Kim exclaimed. "How could you?"

"Later!" he snapped. "Just run—we have to beat them there!"

Pushing themselves harder than most of them had in years, the rangers sprinted through the hidden doors and into the tunnel toward the Dino Thunder lab and Tommy and Hayley's house.

Pulling to a stop in front of the house, the rangers climbed off the bikes and looked around. They'd managed to make it to Tommy's with only on wrong turn. Now they paused, hesitating before approaching the house.

"Maybe this is a bad idea," Madison said nervously. "What if he really doesn't want to see us? We should leave and try calling first and then come back later."

"Nope," Vida said, grabbing her sister's hand and striding toward the door. "Come on, sis. We're already here so we may as well give it a shot."

"But—" Madison started to protest as Vida towed her after.

"Maddy, we've got to try," Nick said, propelling her from behind. "Come on."

Crowding onto the porch, the rangers stopped in front of the door. Taking a deep breath, Vida reached up to knock on the door. But before her knuckles touched, she froze.

"Maybe Maddy is right," she said slowly, pulling her hand back. "Maybe this isn't such a good—"

Nick didn't give her a chance to finish speaking. Reaching around her, he pounded on the door. Madison let out a small squeak of surprise as Vida quickly took a step back. Nick stayed where he was, waiting for someone to come to the door.

"Well, guess there's no changing our minds now," Chip said.

"We could always run for the bikes," Xander pointed out. "If we run fast enough they'll never catch us."

But before anyone could respond, the door opened to reveal an unshaven and rumpled looking Tommy. He stared at them in surprise and they stared back. For a moment, no one spoke. Then Tommy groaned, rubbing a hand over his tired face as he quickly glanced back over his shoulder.

"Great," he muttered, shaking his head. "Just great."

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair as he looked at them.

"Ok, look," he said. "I know you're here to kill me, but can you wait just a little bit?"

They stared at him in shock, momentarily speechless.

"Just give me like—thirty—" he said, pausing as he frowned at his watch. "What time is it?—fifteen minutes. Give me fifteen minutes and then I don't care what you do. And can we do this outside? There's plenty of room in the backyard—"

"Tommy, we're not here to kill you!" Vida burst out.

Madison had started crying again, shaking her head as she tried to stammer out a protest to Tommy's accusation. Tommy frowned, scratching his head in confusion as he blinked at Vida.

"Then why are you here?" he asked after a moment. "Because last I knew you wanted me dead."

"We don't want you dead!" Madison cried, wringing her hands. "Tommy, we just—I want to—I…oh…"

"We're here to apologize," Nick said, saying what Madison was struggling to say. "What we did was wrong and—and we're sorry…"

Tommy's hand dropped to his side as he stared at Nick. No one said anything else for another moment. Then Tommy shook himself.

"Alright, that's it," he muttered. "I have officially lost it. I'm so tired I'm hallucinating…"

"Wait—what?" Chip said, frowning. "We're not hallucinations—are we?"

Madison rolled her eyes.

"No, we're not," she said. "Tommy, we aren't hallucinations."

"Yes you are," he said firmly. "You have to be because there is no logical reason for you to be here since all of you hate my guts."

Guilty looks flashed across all of the younger rangers' faces.

"And I'm pretty—actually, I'm sure he wants me dead," Tommy continued, pointing at Nick. "So I really don't know why I'm seeing you…Maybe this is my subconscious telling me—wait a minute…"

He frowned, looking around.

"Did I fall asleep?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "Did I actually—oh, that isn't good. They aren't here—or weren't here—yet… I need to wake up. How do you wake up from a dream? Pinching doesn't work…"

The Mystic Force rangers exchanged concerned looks as Tommy continued muttering to himself.

"Wait, no," he said, shaking his head. "Pinching yourself does work—other people pinching you doesn't—wake up!"

Tommy pinched himself on the arm in an attempt to wake himself up.

"Why isn't this working?" he mumbled, looking around again.

"Tommy, you're not asleep," Vida sighed as he pinched himself a second time.

"Oh good," he said, groaning as he put his face in his hands. "Then I really have lost it. This is just wonderful…Coffee. I need coffee. Maybe that'll wake me up."

Turning abruptly, he walked back into the house leaving them standing on the porch and the door wide open. The young rangers hesitated briefly and then followed him into the house.

"Tommy, wait!" Vida called. "You're not hallucinating!"

"I'm not listening!" he said, pausing and shaking his head. "You're not really here."

They hurried to catch up to him.

"Tommy, please," Madison pleaded. "We're really here—I promise."

He just groaned again, rubbing a hand across his face.

"I've really lost it," he muttered. "I've gone crazy…"

"Tommy," Vida said. "We're here. For real. We're not hallucinations."

He put his hands over his ears, shaking his head.

"La la la la," he said as he closed his eyes and kept his ears covered. "I can't hear you. You're not really here. This is all in my head and it needs to stop."

The rangers frowned, glancing at each other.

"Tommy, knock it off," Vida said. "You aren't a child."

"I'm still not listening," he repeated, refusing to look at her.

Glaring at him, Vida reached out and smacked him on the arm.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed in surprise, dropping his hand and rubbing the spot where she'd smacked him. "And now I'm feeling them. It just keeps getting worse… I've gotta pull myself together…"

"Tommy, we're real," Madison insisted. "You have to believe us."

He shook his head again.

"No I don't," he said, rubbing a hand across his face. "I don't have to believe you because there's no reason for any of you to be here…I guess I've just been hoping for it for so long now that I've conjured you in my mind…"

Tommy's comment finally made Madison lose it again. Bursting into tears, she flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry!" she cried, sobbing into his shirt. "Please don't hate us…"

He grunted in surprise, looking down at her in shock.

"Oh boy," he said. "And now she's hugging me—very tightly. Umm…"

Not quite sure what to do, Tommy hesitantly reached to pat her on the head.

"Good hallucination," he said. "Now can you—mmm—let go?"

Madison just started crying harder as the others rolled their eyes.

"How do I make her stop?" he asked, looking up at them.

They just shrugged and he sighed as she continued to hug him tightly. The sound of movement came from down the hall and Tommy's office door burst open as Jason and the rest of the rangers piled out into the hallway. They stopped in surprise to see Mystic Force already in the house and Madison hanging on Tommy, crying.

"Now, what do I do—oh, that's just great. None of you are here. I'm not seeing any of you."

He'd seen the rest of his friends now and was shaking his head adamantly.

"Jason can't be here," he muttered. "He's in Angel Grove. This is Reefside. So he can't be here and neither can anyone else."

Jason frowned.

"Tommy, what are you talking about?" he asked.

"Nope," Tommy grumbled. "Not listening. None of you are real, you can't be here."

His gaze stopped on Billy and he stared in shock.

"And you live on another planet," he groaned. "I have really lost it. Ok, what should I do? Call the kids? No, too long. Hayley! "

Extracting himself from Madison's hug, he took a few steps back.

"Hayley!" he shouted again as he moved towards the stairs. "Hayley get down here, we have a problem. I'm losing my mind!"

As Tommy shouted, the sound of crying suddenly came from the other room. He grimaced, running a hand through his hair.

"Stupid," he muttered. "Just had to do it, didn't I?"

"Tommy!" Kat exclaimed, hurrying around the others. "You should know better."

She didn't pause when she reached him, walking straight past and heading toward the living room with Kim right on her heels. Tommy spun to watch them go and started to go after them.

"No, no, no, no, no," he said, shaking his head. "Hallucinations should not be touching my children. You are not allowed in there—"

Jason caught Tommy by the shoulder before he'd made it more than a couple of steps.

"Tommy, relax, bro," he said, spinning Tommy to face him. "They'll get the babies. You need to sleep—and stop calling us hallucinations."

"No," Tommy said shortly. "I have to take care of my babies because none of you should be here which means none of you are real and none of you should be touching them."

Tommy tried to pull away from Jason, but he wouldn't let go. But the crying in the living room had stopped now. Footsteps on the stairs announced Hayley moments before she came into sight.

"Tommy?" she exclaimed, rushing over to him. "Tommy, what's going on? Why are the girls—what are they all doing here?"

Hayley stopped in surprise next to her husband, looking at Jason and the rest of the rangers. She hadn't expected to see all of Tommy's friends there.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" she snapped. "I told you that you could use the lab for a meeting—not my house. And what on earth are they doing in my house?"

Hayley had just seen Mystic Force. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at them. All five of the young rangers took a step backward, putting themselves against the wall. The look on Hayley's face said that irritating her right now would be a really bad idea.

"I wasn't planning on being in the house," Jason answered. "It just—well, it just happened. We were using the lab for the tunnels to meet with them at the museum."

"So then why are you all here?" Hayley demanded.

"Because they took off," Jason growled, pointing at his sisters and their friends. "The goal was to catch them before they got in the house, but they had too big a head start."

Hayley took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead.

"Hayley, you shouldn't be talking to them," Tommy said, shaking his head. "They're not really here…"

She frowned, turning her attention back to Tommy.

"Tommy, what on earth are you talking about?" she asked.

"I'm seeing people who aren't here…" he mumbled. "No sleeping is really starting to get to me…"

"Sweetheart, they're really here," she sighed. "Even though I wish they weren't…"

"Nope," he said, shaking his head adamantly. "They can't be here. None of them live in Reefside—and Billy isn't even on earth. Oh, and all of them want me dead…"

He gestured behind him to Mystic Force.

"So none of them can be here," he continued, looking back at Hayley. "That's why I called you—we have a problem…"

"Tommy, you aren't hallucinating," Hayley said. "I can see them, too."

He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Oh, good," he said. "Hayley, you haven't gotten much more sleep than me. You're starting to see things, too…"

Hayley rolled her eyes.

"Tommy—" she started to say.

"You need to go back to bed," he interrupted, trying to direct her toward the stairs. "I shouldn't have woken you up. I'll be fine until the kids get here. Go back to sleep."

"Tommy! You aren't hallucinating!" she exclaimed, refusing to budge.

"He really has lost his mind," Zach muttered, shaking his head.

"Be quiet, Zach," Tanya said, glaring at him. "You're not helping."

"Yes I am," Tommy insisted. "And I have to go take the babies away from the hallucinations in the living room, so go to bed."

"I'm not going to bed!" Hayley protested. "Not until you go lay down or at least stop thinking you're hallucinating."

"Hayley is right, Tommy," Trini said. "You aren't hallucinating, but you should lay down…I know what it's like to not have sleep with one, but I can't imagine two newborns at one time."

"I can…" Aisha sighed. "It's not easy…"

Rocky nodded in agreement. Their first few weeks with their twins had been difficult, so they knew exactly how Tommy and Hayley were feeling. As the rangers tried to come up with something else to convince Tommy he wasn't hallucinating, Justin broke from the group and headed toward the kitchen.

"Justin, where are you going?" Jason frowned.

The younger ranger paused, glancing over his shoulder.

"To get a snack," he said.

"Why?" Jason asked, sounding like he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Justin shrugged.

"You guys all know how stubborn he is," he answered, gesturing at Tommy. "This is kind of pointless. Sure, he'll come around eventually—maybe—but we may as well be comfortable. So I'm getting a snack."

Turning, he disappeared into the kitchen leaving Jason glaring at the empty doorway.

"Tommy?" Billy said, catching Tommy's attention.

The blue ranger had been standing quietly since they got in the house, watching Tommy closely. Tommy sighed as he turned to look at Billy, running a hand through his hair again.

"Yeah?" he said reluctantly.

"While it is understandable, given your current state of mind and body, that you would believe yourself to be experiencing a hallucination," Billy said. "It is actually quite impossible for such to be occurring at this juncture."

Tommy frowned, but didn't say anything.

"You are, at this moment, processing information you had no foreknowledge of," Billy continued. "Therefore it is impossible for you to be hallucinating it because, in order for you to do so, you would have required knowledge of what was happening before it happen in order to conjure some semblance of it in your subconscious. However, we were extremely cautious in reassuring ourselves that you had no knowledge of the occurrence of this meeting ahead of time as we did not wish you to concern yourself with it given that you were previously preoccupied with other commitments and events. So, since you could not have known of this meeting, you cannot have recreated a replica in your own mind."

Blinking, Tommy stared a Billy for a moment without saying a word.

"Ok," he said slowly. "Maybe I'm not hallucinating…"

"What?" Jason exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "So you won't believe the rest of us, but Billy says something and suddenly you don't think you're hallucinating anymore?"

"He didn't even say anything that made sense," Rocky added.

"Right," Tommy agreed. "I understood—well, none of that… and I can't hallucinate something I don't know."

"Exactly," Billy smiled.

Hayley was shaking her head.

"Yep," Justin agreed, wandering back out of the kitchen. "And that's exactly what Billy just told you."

Tommy turned to look at him and frowned.

"Justin, what are you eating?" he asked.

"Fried chicken," he answered. "It was in the fridge."

"But we haven't had chicken since I got home…" Tommy said slowly, looking to Hayley for confirmation.

Justin froze just before taking another bite. Hayley was looking at him in concern.

"Justin, that chicken's at least three weeks old…" she said.

Holding the chicken away from him now, Justin looked like he was about to be sick.

"Excuse me," he said, bolting for the kitchen.

With Justin gone again, Jason shook his head and looked at Tommy.

"Ok," he said. "Now that you don't think we're hallucinations anymore, will you please go get some sleep? We can handle things for a little while."

Tommy started to answer, but the front door flew open. Kira, Trent, Ethan, and Conner crowded into the house. Ethan and Conner were arguing, their attention completely focused on each other. Kira and Trent were following, shaking their heads.

"Sorry we're late, Dr. O," Kira said. "I couldn't get him off the computer."

She pointed at Ethan who didn't bother to stop the argument to acknowledge what Kira said.

"And then he decided it was a good idea to turn the system off in the middle of the game," she continued, gesturing at Conner. "Which just made everything take twice as long…"

"Would you just let it go?" Conner snapped at Ethan, stalking toward the living room without looking around. "We're here to babysit, not play video games."

Grumbling, Ethan followed him and the two boys disappeared into the living room.

"But we're here," Trent finished, shooting a look after his two teammates. "Umm… Dr. O? What's all over your shirt?"

There were several black marks streaked across his green shirt. Tommy looked down at himself, frowning at the stains.

"Aww…" he sighed. "I just put this on…"

"Is that mascara?" Kira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She was crying…" he mumbled. "And this was a clean shirt…"

Trent and Kira exchanged confused looks, not entirely sure who he was talking about.

"Don't worry, Tommy," Aisha quickly reassured him. "I know how to get that stain out. Your shirt will be fine."

"K…" Tommy said, stifling a yawn.

"Dr. O, you can go get some sleep now," Trent said, looking at Tommy. "We'll keep an eye on things."

Tommy nodded and started to turn, but then he paused.

"Hey Trent?" he said, leaning closer to the young white ranger.

"Yeah Dr. O?" said Trent.

"You can see them, too, right?" Tommy asked, gesturing to the other rangers.

"Yes," Trent confirmed.

"Even him?" asked Tommy, pointing at Billy.

Trent frowned, following the direction he was pointing.

"Who?" he said. " Billy?"

Tommy nodded.

"Yeah, I can see him, too," Trent assured him.

"Ok, good," Tommy nodded.

Turning, he headed toward the living room.

"Oh, and make sure they don't kill me while I'm sleeping," he yawned, gesturing to his left as he disappeared into the living room.

Kira and Trent both frowned, turning to see who he had been talking about. Seeing the Mystic Force rangers still standing there, they both froze in shock. But their shock quickly turned to anger as they glared at the other rangers.

"Umm… guys?" Kat said, coming out of the living room. "Tommy just fell face first onto the couch. Is he ok?"

Hayley sighed and started to head toward the living room. But Kim came walking out before she could get to the doorway.

"He's snoring," she said in amusement. "So he's fine."

"Oh, good," Hayley said. "I'm—I'm going to go get him a blanket. And a clean shirt. I think there might be one more in one of the boxes upstairs…"

Still muttering to herself, Hayley headed back upstairs.

"What happened to the babies?" Aisha asked, looking at Kim and Kat.

"Conner and Ethan took them," Kim pouted, crossing her arms.

"Because we're the babysitters," Conner said in a sing-song voice, coming out of the living room. "Right?"

He was responding to Kim's comment, but had continued cooing at the baby he was holding at the same time. Ethan was following him, holding the other tiny little girl. With Trent's attention still fixed on Mystic Force, Kira whipped around to Ethan and Conner. Looking at the older rangers, neither of the boys had seen Mystic Force further down the hall yet.

"Conner, give Kat the baby," Kira said, not wanting him to still be holding the newborn when he saw the other team.

He frowned at her.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just give her the baby," Kira repeated.

Ethan, who had glanced around in concern when he heard the tone in Kira's voice, saw Mystic Force and froze.

"Dude, give her the baby," he said, carefully handing the one he was holding over to Kim. "Now."

Conner turned around to see what was going on and saw the Mystic Force rangers watching the four of them in surprise. His eyes narrowed. Turning briefly, he handed the child he was holding over to Kat and spun back to face Mystic Force.

"What are you five doing here?" he growled, stalking toward them.

"Get out of here with them," Kira hissed to Kat and Kim before moving to join the boys.

The two women didn't hesitate. Spinning, they retreated toward Tommy's office with the babies. Justin poked his head out of the kitchen to see what was going on, leaning against the doorframe to watch. No one else moved, not quite sure what to do about the two younger teams as they faced off.

"What are you doing here?" Conner demanded again, moving right up to Nick. "You have no right to be here."

Mystic Force was shocked to see the four of them there, let alone see the reaction they were getting.

"We're here to see Tommy," Nick finally answered, fighting the urge to reach for his wand as Conner pushed the limits of personal space. "What are you doing here?"

"What we're supposed to be doing," Kira snapped. "Didn't you get the hint when I didn't answer you? You're not welcome here."

Vida was staring at Kira in surprise.

"Wait, so you purposefully ignored my calls?" she asked.

Kira crossed her arms.

"What do you think?" she scoffed. "After what all of you pulled I had no reason to answer."

"And now all of you are going to leave," Conner growled. "So out!"

Nick shook his head, refusing to move.

"We aren't going anywhere," he said. "Not until we get a chance to talk to Tommy."

"You have no right to talk to him!" Conner snarled. "And if you don't stay away from him, you're going to regret it. No one hurts my team—ever. And if you touch him again you're not going to know what hit you. Those magic sticks of yours won't help you in a fair fight against us."

Now Mystic Force was really confused.

"Wait a minute," Vida said, frowning. "Your team? What team?"

"This one," Conner snapped, gesturing behind him. "You almost killed Dr. O once, I won't give you the chance to do it again. So, last chance—leave."

"What are you so touchy about?" Nick snapped back, crossing his arms. "You have no idea what's going on."

"You're the ones who have no idea what's going on," Trent growled. "If you had a clue, you wouldn't be here. I may have done a lot of things I regret before I gave my loyalty to my team, but even I never did what you five did."

Conner nodded, getting in Nick's face now. Nick was force to take a few steps back—either that or let Conner run into him. Slowly, step by step, Conner started back them down the hall as he ripped into them.

"You want to know what's going on?" Conner snarled. "The five of you ganged up on an unarmed, and unprepared, ranger who trusted you with his life. You betrayed him without hesitation, without thought, and without questioning if what you were doing was right. It's one thing to act on instinct, but instinct doesn't tell you to try and kill someone without having an actual reason. And Dr. O never would have used magic if the five of you hadn't forced him. None of you deserve to be called rangers."

As Conner paused to take a breath, Chip, who had been studying the four facing him, suddenly gasped, his eyes widening.

"You're Dino Thunder!" he exclaimed. "The four of you are rangers!"

"Duh," Ethan scoffed. "What? Did you think we just liked hanging out around our high school science teacher just because?"

"Yeah, we're Dino Thunder," Conner snapped. "And we told you to stay away from here. We warned you what would happen if you set foot on our turf—"

Conner froze, cutting off as he stared at Nick. Slowly, a smirk spread across his face.

"You're on our turf," he repeated, taking another step toward the other red ranger. "And you used special powers on one of us first. Your turn."

Jason's eyes widened as he realized, too late, his mistake.

"Conner, no!" he exclaimed, jumping forward to try and grab the younger red.

But it was too late. In a blur of red and a quick breeze, Conner and Nick both vanished. Jason's hand closed on thin air.

"You know you had no chance of catching him, right?" Ethan commented as Jason groaned in frustration.

"Stupid kid," Jason muttered in response as he looked around. "Just can't let me handle this…"

"You're the one who brought them here," Kira said. "Or at least that's what I'm assuming from the looks around the room."

"Oh, he brought them," Justin said, crossing his arms. "You just weren't supposed to find out. I would have told you, but Jason made me promise I wouldn't or I wasn't allowed to come…And some of us don't break our promises."

He glared at Mystic Force as he finished speaking.

"We haven't broken any promises," Xander protested, still in shock over Nick's sudden disappearance.

"And where's Nick?" Madison cried. "What did you do to him?"

"Oh, you've broken plenty of things," Ethan said, shooting a look at Xander. "And we haven't done anything to Nick—yet."

"Ethan," Jason growled.

Ethan just smirked.

"Well, we haven't," he said. "Conner, maybe. But we'll have to wait until he—well, they—gets back to find out."

Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face.

"The four of you are going to be the death of me," he muttered. "Sometimes I don't know who irritates me more—you four or Wild Force."

"Ouch," Ethan said, clapping a hand over his heart as he feigned pain. "That one hurts."

"Would someone answer us?" Vida demanded, getting angry now. "What did you do with Nick?"

"What is going on down here?" Hayley demanded, coming back down the stairs and interrupting before someone could answer Vida. "Tommy is sleeping, and I couldn't even find another shirt for him."

She paused, frowning as she looked around.

"Where are my babies?" she asked slowly. "And where are Conner and Nick?"

"Kim and Kat have the babies in the office," Kira quickly assured her. "And Conner took Nick."

Hayley took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I will be right back," she said shortly. "No one move."

She disappeared into the living room for a moment with the blanket she was carrying. When she came back, her arms were empty.

"Now," she said, regarding the group with her hands on her hips. "Where are Conner and Nick?"

"We don't know," Xander snapped. "They won't tell us what they did with him."

Hayley raised an eyebrow and Xander backed down a little. With him quiet again, she looked expectantly at the three remaining Dino Thunder rangers.

"Conner took off with Nick," Trent said.

"Which he shouldn't have done," Jason muttered.

"Jason, you did say that if they set foot in Reefside that they were fair game," Kira pointed out. "This is Reefside."

"Yes, but—" Jason started to argue.

"She has a point," Hayley said. "You told them Reefside was theirs—and I won't let you go back on your word now, even if you tried. Now does anyone have any idea where Conner took him?"

"Probably the raptor pen," Ethan grinned. "We haven't fed them today—or yesterday."

Madison, Vida, Chip, and Xander looked at each other with wide eyes at the mention of the raptors, despite the fact that they didn't know for sure what they were.

"Guys, you can't do that," Hayley scolded. "They need to be fed or they're going to break out and get themselves into trouble—or cause someone else a whole lot of trouble. You're supposed to be responsible for them while you're home, remember?"

"Sorry, Hayley," all three of them mumbled, ducking their heads.

She sighed, but let it go.

"Just—just don't tell Tommy," she said, shaking her head. "Ok?"

"Got it," Ethan grinned. "Wait—about not feeding them or using Nick as bait?"

Madison gasped, hand flying to her mouth, but Hayley just rolled her eyes.

"Both," she said. "At least for now. We can probably tell him about using Nick as bait later—much, much later…"

"I think we can handle that," Kira said.

"Good," Hayley sighed. "Now, I'm going to check on my babies. Please try to not wake Tommy up… he needs sleep desperately."

They nodded as she turned and headed down the hall toward the office.

"Please inform me of any injuries," she said over her shoulder. "More specifically any serious injuries."

"We will," Trent assured her.

She kept walking, not looking back at them.

"You need to tell us what is going on right now," Xander demanded, drawing Dino Thunder's attention again. "Where is he?"

"Oh, relax," Ethan snorted. "He'll be fine—mostly. We think."

Madison was pale, looking around the room in the hopes that someone was going to tell her nothing was happening to Nick.

"Bring him back!" Vida demanded, hovering next to her sister. "You have no right to do this!"

"We have every right," Kira countered, crossing her arms. "Just ask Jason."

Xander whipped around to Jason.

"Shouldn't you be stopping this?" he snapped. "You're the one who says you're in charge of the rangers."

Ethan snorted as Trent and Kira exchanged amused looks.

"I am," Jason growled. "They're—they're a special case due to their mentor. But that's not my concern right now. None of you are even supposed to be here!"

"We wouldn't be if you hadn't invited us to Reefside!" Xander countered. "Nick was right all along. This was a trap. You wanted to get us here so you didn't have to take the blame for anything."

"Oh no," Jason said, shaking his head. "You are not blaming me for this. I chose Reefside because it's in the middle and I had contacts for creating a safe and private place to meet. They knew nothing about this until the five of you decided to show up here!"

Xander started to argue again, but Jason cut him off.

"Don't argue," Jason snapped. "I purposefully left their entire team out of the loop to make sure they wouldn't have a chance to do anything. You were never supposed to come here and, had they found out, by the time they discovered you had been here you would have been long gone."

"Unless they tried something stupid," Justin muttered, shaking his head.

Kira, Trent, and Ethan were all glaring at Jason.

"We should have been told," Kira said.

"Don't start with me," Jason said, shaking his head. "This meeting had nothing to do wit—"

"If you say it had nothing to do with us I swear I'm going to plant a virus in your computer," Ethan interrupted. "Because if it involves Dr. O, it involves us."

Jason glared at him, but didn't argue. Turning back to Mystic Force, he opened his mouth to continue reprimanding them when the back door flew open again and the red blur returned. Conner deposited Nick on the floor next to his four teammates, grinning as he skidded to a stop next to his own.

"So, what did I miss?" he asked, glancing around.

His teammates just shrugged in response. Mystic Force, on the other hand, was momentarily focused on Nick. The red ranger was on his knees, doubled over with his arms wrapped around his middle as he gasped for air. Madison dropped down next to him, talking quietly as she tried to figure out what was wrong. Turning on Dino Thunder, the other three placed themselves between Nick and Madison and the other team.

"We went out to the—" he started to continue.

"What did you do to him?" Xander demanded, interrupting as he glared at Conner.

Turning to look at him, Conner raised an eyebrow.

"I took him to meet Spot," he said. "Why?"

"Called it!" Ethan grinned, punching the air.

"He's barely breathing!" Vida snapped, gesturing behind her. "What did you do?"

The smile slipped from Conner's face as he took a deep breath.

"Look," he said. "We had some things to discuss—we discussed them. That's all you need to know."

"Hurting him is not having a discussion," Chip countered.

"And I didn't hurt him," Conner responded. "He'll be fine—eventually."

"If you don't tell us what you did to him right now," Xander growled. "Then I am going to—,"

"Going to what?" Kira asked, cutting him off. "I'd be very careful with that answer, if I were you."

"She's right, Xander," Jason said, crossing his arms. "We are still in Reefside—and you're still in our presence."

The other rangers with Jason were tense, waiting to see how things were going to unfold.

"We have a right to defend ourselves!" Xander exclaimed. "And they attacked us first. What? Do they get special treatment because they know Tommy?"

"No one gives us special treatment," Conner snapped. "Actually, they expect more from us because of our mentor."

"And you're failing," Vida snapped back. "How dare you kidnap and attack him like that! He was here to apologize—we all are—and you just threw that back in his face like it was nothing."

"I didn't attack him!" Conner exclaimed. "And you have no reason to accuse me of it. I told you, we had a discussion red to red. If he wants to tell you what it was about, then that's his choice—I personally don't think you need to know."

"He can't tell us!" Madison cried, glaring up at Conner as she supported Nick who was slowly starting to breathe normally. "He can barely get air right now!"

"And it's not because of me," Conner said shortly. "Well, mostly. But I didn't attack him."

"Then tell us what happened," Chip said.

Conner shook his head, crossing his arms.

"What did you do?" Xander demanded, stepping up and getting in Conner's face.

His hand was hovering next to his pocket now, making it clear he was fighting the urge to draw his wand. Behind him, Nick tried to say something but couldn't get it out. Madison turned her attention back to him, talking quietly.

"Back off," Conner warned, not backing down. "Because you're in way over your head."

"Why?" Xander asked. "Because you have at least three times our number with all of them here? We can take you all."

Conner scoffed as the rest of his team rolled their eyes. A few of the older rangers started to say something, but Conner cut them off.

"Stay out of this," he said shortly, glancing back at Jason and the others. "I don't want to be rude, but this is our issue now."

They looked to Jason, who reluctantly nodded.

"He's right," he muttered. "Xander's challenging him, not us. We can't step in until the wands come out—or someone actually gets hurt."

Nodding in satisfaction, Conner turned back to Xander.

"We don't need them to take you down," Conner growled, glaring at the green ranger. "You guys have nothing on us. You have no idea what you're up against."

"You sure about that?" Chip smirked. "I've studied all of the past ranger teams—I know how you fight."

"It's one thing to study it," Trent said quietly. "It's another to face it in person—you sure you want to go down this road again? You still don't have the whole story."

"You attacked Nick," Vida retorted. "What else is there to know? According to your Code, we have every right to retaliate."

"Except I didn't attack him!" Conner snapped. "Get your facts straight before you make accusations."

"If you didn't attack him," Xander said, jabbing a finger at Conner. "Then why can't he move? Tell us the truth."

"I just did," Conner said, eyes narrowed as he stepped closer to Xander, forcing him backward. "You don't need to know anything else."

Coughing as he tried to take steady breaths, Nick made an attempt to climb to his feet to rein in his team and tell them to calm down. But as he stood, he grimaced, leaning over on his knees. Madison scrambled up to make sure he didn't fall.

"See!" Vida exclaimed. "You hurt him."

"And we aren't going to just let you get away with it," Xander said. "Maybe you let things like that slip, but we don't. No one hurts our teammates and just walks away."

All four of the Dino Thunder rangers froze for a minute in shock at what Xander had just said, staring at him. Jason grimaced, tensing as he and the others prepared for the explosion.

"No," Conner said, shaking his head as he advanced on Xander. "You don't get to say that. You have no right to say that!"

"I have every right when you attack my teammate!" Xander snapped, pushing Conner backward by the shoulder.

He hadn't pushed Conner hard, but it was enough to make the other ranger stumble back a few steps.

"Enough!" Conner snarled as Kira, Ethan, and Trent tensed next to him. "Last chance—knock it off or get out before we do something to you that you're going to regret later. I am done playing nice!"

Jason, deciding this had gone far enough, was about to step in and stop the fight when Tommy came stumbling out of the living room.

"What happened?" he asked, arms up and ready to fight. "Who's fighting?"

Conner didn't immediately back down from his stand-off with Xander, but he didn't move any closer, either, as all of them looked to Tommy. He was ready for a fight, his Dino morpher out and the key in his hand. The shouting had woken him out of a dead sleep and, hearing his students shouting, his sleep deprived brain had jumped straight to them being in trouble and in need of back up. Chip stared at the morpher with wide eyes.

"You're the black Dino Thunder ranger!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Duh," Ethan muttered, shaking his head. "What part of him being on our team didn't you get earlier?"

Chip shrugged sheepishly as Tommy continued to eye Mystic Force warily.

"It's ok, Dr. O," Trent quickly reassured him, putting his hands up as he stepped toward their mentor. "Conner may be ready to kill Xander, but we don't need to go that far. He can do that without morphing. So put that away."

Tommy frowned, slowly putting the morpher away as he glanced anxiously around. Deciding making Tommy feel better was more important than being the last to back down, Conner turned his back on Xander and walked away to stand next to Tommy, leaving the green ranger glaring after him. Down the hall, the office door burst open and Hayley came storming out.

"And now we're dead," Ethan muttered as she stalked toward them.

Tommy, who had been rubbing a hand across his tired face, jumped and looked around at Mystic Force.

"Not them, Dr. O," Kira sighed. "Hayley…"

"Oh," he said, nodding as he leaned against the doorframe. "Ok."

"I thought I told you to be quiet!" Hayley hissed as she walked through the group of rangers in her way. "You're going to wake up—oh, great."

She'd finally seen Tommy standing in the doorway of the living room. Kim and Kat, who had followed her out of the office, joined the group with the babies still cuddled in their arms. Hayley rounded on the two younger teams.

"See what you did?" she demanded, glaring at all of them.

"Hey, they started it," Conner protested. "They're questioning my actions and calling us bad teammates because we didn't go kill them when they hurt Dr. O."

"He attacked Nick!" Xander retorted.

Hayley took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Guys, stop," Nick coughed, finally managing to get words out. "He didn't—he didn't hurt me…"

He paused, trying to take a deep breath and failing as he coughed again.

"Then what's wrong?" Madison asked.

Conner rolled his eyes.

"He got headbutted in the stomach by a raptor," he said. "And then he wasn't quite ready to move as fast as I did. I told you—he just needed a few minutes."

Nick nodded, shooting Conner a grateful look for finally explaining. Tommy was frowning as he looked at Conner. But the younger ranger just grinned, shrugging in response to his mentor's look.

"So all of this is because the four of you thought he hurt Nick?" Hayley snapped, clearly not happy. "Why didn't someone just say something? Tommy was finally asleep. And he needs sleep. With the babies and everything else he hasn't been sleeping and it's starting to get to him and all of you yelling and keeping him up isn't helping things!"

"Hayley, we tried—" Ethan started to say.

"I just want all of you to be quiet!" she exclaimed. "Is that too hard to ask? Just a few hours of quiet so he can sleep before he continues to try and do everything all by himself instead of asking for help. And we can't even have either of our parents come help because we're both too tired to completely watch what we're saying and the last thing we need is to let something slip about the rangers because we don't know what we're saying. I love my babies, but all of you are making this so much more difficult right now!"

She paused, taking a breath to continue her agitated rant. But before she could say anything, Tommy, who had been staring with a frown on his face, spoke.

"Jason," he said, looking at his friend. "You're bleeding…"

"What?" Jason said, following Tommy's gaze. "Aww man…"

The knuckles on his hand, the one he had punched the tree with, were all scraped up from the incident. They were also still bleeding. So focused on what was happening with his sisters and their team, along with Dino Thunder, he had momentarily forgotten about the injured hand. Grimacing, he pulled his hand in closer, trying to keep from getting blood anywhere else.

"What did you do?" Hayley exclaimed, walking over to Jason and grabbing him by the wrist so she could take a closer look at his hand.

"He punched a tree," Trini said, crossing her arms as she glared at her husband.

Hayley rolled her eyes, gently prodding Jason's hand to check for any breaks. He winced.

"Will one of you get the first aid kit?" Hayley asked, glancing over her shoulder at the four Dino rangers.

"Got it, Hayley," Conner said.

He darted away, returning a moment later with the first aid kit.

"Lucky for you it doesn't appear to be broken," Hayley said shortly as she dug through the kit. "But we'll have to x-ray it before you leave to make sure."

"I'm fine," Jason protested as she started cleaning up his hand.

"Mmm hmm…" Hayley said. "And you're a moron. What on earth made you think that punching the tree would be a good idea?"

"I didn't—I don't know…" he mumbled, deciding arguing was a bad idea.

Shaking her head and continuing to mutter to herself, Hayley quickly cleaned and bandaged his hand.

"That will be fine for now," she said. "Please try not to punch anything else while you're here."

Reaching to pick up the first aid kit, she frowned when she spotted something on the carpet. It was blood that had dripped from Jason's hand before anyone noticed.

"You got blood on my carpet!" she exclaimed, glaring at Jason.

"Aw…" he muttered. "I'm sorry, Hayley. I'll get it—"

"Now I have to clean that!" Hayley cried, bursting into tears. "Isn't it bad enough that I'm days behind in laundry and dishes and everything else because I'm too tired to get it all done? Now I have to clean up after you because you're getting blood on my carpet!"

Everyone was looking at Hayley in surprise as she continued to cry. Except Tommy. He immediately reached out to comfort her, pulling her into a hug. Clutching his shirt, she sobbed into his chest as he rubbed her back.

"It's ok," he mumbled. "We're alright…"

"But it's going to stain!" she wailed.

Too tired to think of anything else, Tommy continued to rub her back and mumbled softly to her as she cried. Frowning, Conner glanced around and caught sight of Kim and Kat. Darting over, he carefully took the baby from Kat and walked over to Hayley and Tommy.

"Hayley?" he said, waiting for her to glance at him.

She turned to look at him briefly and he gently handed the baby to her. Hugging the little girl tightly, she turned back to bury her face in Tommy's chest again as her sobs slowly subsided. When Conner turned around everyone, except his team, was looking at him in surprise.

"What?" he said. "Babies are a kind of a natural anti-depressant."

"Wow," Ethan smirked. "He knows a big word."

Conner glared at him, but Ethan just continued to grin. Trini rolled her eyes. Walking over to the tired couple, she placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder.

"Tommy?" she said gently. "Why don't you two go get some sleep?"

"But the babies…" he mumbled in protest, looking at her over Hayley's head.

"We'll take care of them," Trini reassured him. "You still need to take care of yourself, you know."

Tommy nodded in agreement, stifling a yawn. Hayley nodded wearily, too, but didn't move from where she was leaning against her husband.

"Hayley, go," Trini said, reaching to take the baby from her. "We'll be just fine down here. Won't we, sweetie?"

She smiled at the tiny little girl in her arms. Hayley smiled faintly, nodding.

"Go on," Trini said, shooing them toward the stairs. "Upstairs for both of you this time."

Yawning, Hayley nodded and she and Tommy headed toward the stairs. But as Hayley headed up the stairs, Tommy paused and looked down at himself.

"What's wrong, bro?" Jason asked.

"I don't have another shirt," Tommy sighed, turning around as he ran a hand through his hair. "This was my last clean shirt…"

Zach snorted.

"It would have to be," he said. "You've regressed all the way back to green."

Tommy glared at him, but didn't bother responding as he started heading away from the stairs.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Kat asked, intercepting him.

"Gotta do laundry…" he muttered. "Don't have any more clean clothes…"

She started shaking her head and pushing him back toward the stairs.

"Nope," she said firmly. "You get up those stairs and to your bed right this instant. I will handle the laundry. And if I see you down here anytime in the next couple of hours I'm going to drag you back to your bed and lock you in the room—you need to sleep, too."

He frowned, but didn't protest as she shoved him up the first few stairs. Tommy as too tired to argue. Continuing to stumble up the stairs, he didn't turn back around as Kat went back to the others triumphantly.

"So you have the laundry, Kat?" Trini asked.

"Yes," Kat nodded.

"Good," Trini said. "And the rest of us are going to do some cleaning, too. Let's surprise Tommy and Hayley with a clean house when they wake up. That way they can both relax for a little while."

Everyone nodded, liking the idea. Except Mystic Force. Exchanging glances, the newest team started to head for the door. Now that Tommy was gone, they didn't feel like they should be there anymore. Jason, seeing them going, spun.

"Where are you five going?" he growled. "Stop right there."

They stopped in their tracks, looking back at him.

"We're leaving," Vida said. "It's not like you want us here anyways."

A look of hurt flashed quickly across Jason's face, but his sister didn't notice.

"So we're going to get out of the way," she continued.

"You're not going anywhere," Trini said firmly, walking over to them. "You're the reason we're here, so now you're going to all stay and help."

Taking Nick by the arm, she pulled him back toward the group. The rest of the team followed, not wanting to leave him by himself.

"Now," Trini said, letting go of Nick as she looked around at the group. "Kat is taking care of laundry, but she'll need help sorting and getting it all done. Who do you want to help, Kat?"

Kat started to point at Madison, but Trini discreetly shook her head and glanced at Jason. Kat paused, studying the young rangers.

"I'll just take him," Kat said, pointing at Xander. "They need supervision right now anyways to make sure they don't take off, so we can just split them up among us."

Xander looked at her in surprise, but stepped hesitantly forward when Trini beckoned.

"Umm… I don't think you want his help…" Madison said slowly.

"And why not?" Kat asked. "He's perfectly capable of at least carrying baskets for me."

"Because the last time we let him touch anyone's laundry he turned it all pink," Nick snorted. "And not just Vida's stuff—we mean everything."

"Oh," Kat said, eying Xander again. "Well—then I'll take Chip instead. You can do laundry correctly, right?"

He nodded and she smiled.

"Then let's go," she said.

She turned and left, Trini shooing Chip after her as he glanced over his shoulder at his teammates. Nick just shrugged, so Chip went along with it and followed Kat to the laundry room. Trini turned back to the rest of the group to start passing out the rest of the assignments.

"Aisha and Tanya," she said. "You two take the kitchen. I'm pretty sure the fridge needs to be cleaned—as do the dishes…"

The two other yellow rangers nodded and headed toward the kitchen, already discussing the best way to tackle the assignment.

"Adam and Rocky, can you start by emptying all of the trash cans in the house and get it outside?" Trini asked. "Make sure to get the lab, too."

"On it," Adam nodded. "Let's go, Rocky."

The two men headed for the kitchen, planning to start there.

"Ethan," Trini started to say.

"I'll take him," he grinned, pointing at Xander. "We're going to go feed the raptors before they get too hungry and get out."

Xander paled, but Trini nodded.

"Go ahead," she said.

Still grinning, Ethan grabbed Xander and towed him after him toward the back door. Nick watched them go sympathetically, rubbing his stomach and wincing. It still hurt.

"Ok," Trini said, glancing around at who was left. "Kira and Trent, you're on babysitting duty for now. So take her."

She handed over the little girl in her arms to Kira. Trent took the other baby from Kim and the two headed off to get the babies settled in the living room for a little while. Conner looked disappointed, but didn't protest.

"Kim and Billy," Trini continued. "You're on dusting and sweeping all of the rooms you can."

"They should vacuum, too," Zach suggested.

"Which would wake up Tommy and Hayley," Trini said drily, her hands on her hips. "Which defeats the purpose of sending them upstairs."

"Oh, right," Zach mumbled. "Ignore me. Bad idea."

Rolling her eyes, Trini moved on.

"Now that we've established that noise is a bad thing," she said. "Zach, why don't you take Nick and go catch up on some of the yard work? Rocky and Adam can come help when they're done with the trash."

"I can handle that," Zach grinned. "Let's go, rookie."

Nick took a deep breath, only wincing a little now.

"Alright," he said. "Where do we start?"

Zach smiled and started going over what they needed to check on as they headed out the backdoor.

"Now Conner and Justin," Trini said. "I need the two of you to go around the house and put anything that is in the wrong place back where it belongs. I know you can do it quickly and accurately, Conner, since you spend so much time here and Justin can follow your lead. Make sure you're quiet if you go upstairs."

"Got it, Trini," Conner grinned. "The house'll be clean in no time."

The two young men bounced off, talking excitedly but quietly.

"And I will clean that," Trini said, pointing at the blood on the carpet.

Jason frowned, glancing around. It was just the four of them—him, Trini, Madison and Vida—and Trini hadn't given them anything to do.

"Trini, you forgot us," he said, looking at her expectantly.

"Oh, right," she said. "The three of you shoo—go outside. I want you out of my way."

"What?" Jason said.

"Go," she repeated. "You'll just be in the way here, so outside the three of you go."

Jason glowered at her, but she just raised an eyebrow and nodded toward his sisters. Sighing, he relented.

"Alright," he muttered. "Come on."

Looking at his sisters, he jerked his head toward the door. Glancing at each other, they reluctantly followed him down the hall and out of the house. Nodding in satisfaction, Trini went to find supplies to clean the blood out of the carpet. Outside, Jason walked a few yards from the house before stopping and the girls followed. On the far side of the yard they could see Zach and Nick pulling a few things out of the shed. For a few moments, none of them said anything. Vida was pointedly looking at anything but her brother, while Madison couldn't take her eyes off of him. Biting her lip, she kept acting as though she was going to say something but couldn't figure out what. Jason stood with his arms crossed, staring off toward the trees.

"We're sorry!" Madison finally burst out, starting to cry again as she threw her arms around her brother.

Jason looked down at her in surprise as she buried her face against him, hugging him tightly and sobbing. Then he looked up at Vida.

"She's really been stuck on this today, hasn't she?" he asked, not quite sure how he wanted to react.

Vida nodded, finally looking up at him.

"It's been a—an emotional day," she said hesitantly, eying her brother.

"You're telling me," he muttered, glancing down at Madison again.

She was still sobbing and apologizing.

"We were so wrong," she cried, holding tightly to his shirt. "We disappointed you and—and hurt you and Tommy and everyone else… and we did—didn't listen…we're horrible sisters and I know you—you hate us but we're so sorry…"

Vida was nodding solemnly in agreement, staring at the ground again.

"Maddy," Jason said, shaking his head as he tried to get her to look up at him. "Maddy, please stop crying."

She kept sobbing and continued to apologize over and over again. Jason sighed.

"Maddy, no," he said firmly. "I don't hate you—either of you. I've never hated you."

She finally looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.

"But we almost kill—I almost killed Tommy," she sobbed. "How can you not hate me?"

He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around his little sister, hugging her back.

"I've never hated you," he said again. "You both drive me crazy—sometimes more than others—and I hate some of the things you've done, but I never have and never will hate you. I promise."

"Even after everything we did wrong?" Vida asked quietly, still standing a few feet away.

"Even after all of that," he said. "Come here."

She hesitated for a moment and then hurried over to hug him. After a moment she let go, stepping back a little. Madison continued to lean on Jason, clinging to him as though afraid he would walk away again.

"Can you ever forgive us?" Madison asked, trying not to sound too hopeful as she looked up at Jason. "I know we messed up big time, but…"

She trailed off as Jason sighed.

"Hey," he said. "I think that if I can forgive Tommy for nearly killing me—and then invite him to join the team without a second thought—that I can forgive the two of you."

The twins looked at each other in surprise.

"You invited him to fight with you?" Vida said, looking at Jason.

He nodded.

"Of course," he said. "He was meant to be with us, even if he did have a bit of a rough start. And I've never regretted that decision. We've had our moments, but he's always been my best friend. And you two are always going to be my little sisters—even if I do want to kill you sometimes."

They both smiled faintly.

"The bigger question is," he said, looking between the two of them. "Can you two ever forgive me?"

They frowned.

"For what?" Vida asked.

"Well, I didn't exactly help the situation," Jason said. "Keeping information from you, yelling at you when I should have been more patient—all the things Tommy has been on my case about since the whole thing blew up. Man does he stick to something once he's on it… stubborn…"

"You did keep a lot from us," Madison said.

"I know…" he sighed. "That was never my intention. I just—I wanted to give you a chance to figure things out. And then everything fell apart so quickly…"

"We know…" Vida mumbled.

He shook his head.

"You two aren't little kids anymore," he said seriously. "You've got to think about what you're doing, especially as rangers. That kind of power is a big responsibility and when you mess up there are big consequences. And now that you've sworn to the Code, you risk a lot more to yourselves than just a few bruises if you lose the fight."

"What do you mean?" Madison asked hesitantly.

"We aren't kidding when we say that to break the Code means risking losing the protection of the Power," he said. "If you break from it badly enough, you just won't be rangers anymore. You'll be stripped of your powers and be left with no way to defend yourselves—and I don't want that to happen to you. So you've got to keep your heads on straight no matter what happens."

They both nodded fervently.

"We'll try," they promised.

"Good," he said. "Because I don't want to have to come rescue you the next time you do something stupid."

"Hey, we can take care of ourselves, big brother," Vida said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, well, I'm always going to be your overprotective big brother," he said, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "I know I can't protect you from everything, but I can still do things like chase away the boyfriends I don't like."

Vida smacked his hand away as she shot a look at Madison. Her twin stared back with wide eyes, shaking her head.

"Speaking of boyfriends," Vida said, grinning.

Jason frowned.

"You have a boyfriend?" he asked.

Vida snorted.

"Not me," she said. "But sis does."

Madison groaned, her face turning red as she ducked her head.

"Who is it?" Jason asked. "Do I know them?"

Vida nodded, still grinning.

"It's not Xander or Chip, is it?" Jason sighed. "I know you've known them since you were little, but still…"

"Nope, not them," Vida said.

"Then—no," Jason said, shaking his head. "No. You can't mean—"

"Yep," Vida smirked. "He likes red."

Growling, Jason whipped around. Zach and Nick were still in sight across the yard. He started stalking toward them.

"Jason, no!" Madison exclaimed, throwing her arms around him again. "No, you can't."

He tried to pull away, but she dug her heels in to make it more difficult. However, Jason was stronger than her and it didn't slow him down much.

"Nick, run!" Madison shouted.

Nick's head whipped up and around to look at her. Seeing her trying to stop Jason, he froze for a brief moment and then bolted for the woods. Laughing, Zach took off after him.

"Come back, rookie!" he laughed, trying to catch Nick. "You can't hide from big brother forever!"

Vida was nearly doubled over in laughter now.

"Jason, you can't kill him!" Madison protested as Jason glared after Nick.

"I'm not going to kill him," Jason growled. "I just want to talk. And if I string him up in a tree while I'm talking is anyone really going to notice?"

"Jason!" she exclaimed.

"Fine," he muttered, turning back toward the house. "I won't string him up."

Relaxing a little, Madison let go. Jason was still grumbling, shooting looks over his shoulder toward the woods. Then he stopped, looking at the house now as a smirk spread across his face.

"I wonder what Tommy will say when he hears about this," he said, grinning at his sisters. "I think I'm going to go tell him—he'll help me talk to Nick."

The girls exchanged looks.

"But you can't," Vida pointed out. "He's sleeping."

"And Trini will kill you if you wake him up," Madison added. "Or Kat. Or, well, any of the other rangers, really…"

Jason shrugged.

"I don't think he'll mind," he said. "He'd want to know right away so he has a chance to get his say in."

"Well, I'm going to go tell Trini," Madison announced, starting to back toward the house. "She'll stop you from waking Tommy up and she'll stop you from doing anything to Nick."

Grinning, she spun to dart toward the house. But Jason was right behind her and, with his longer legs and stride, he quickly caught her. Catching her around the waist, he scooped her up off the ground as she squeaked in surprise and protest.

"Let me go!" she demanded, squirming in his grasp. "V, help!"

Vida was watching them with an amused look on her face.

"Not a chance," she said, shaking her head.

As Jason chuckled, Madison continued to struggle to get away, prying at his hands and kicking. She finally managed to land a hard kick to his shin and he winced, nearly dropping her. Vida snorted, laughing at the look on his face.

"Oh, so you think that's funny?" he growled, turning toward her with Madison still tightly in his grasp. "Get over here."

Vida's eyes widened and she started backing away.

"No!" Vida exclaimed. "Jason—no! Don't you dare!"

But he just grinned at her and shifted Madison into a better position without letting go. As Jason tossed Madison up on his shoulder, Vida bolted away. He took off after her, Madison holding on for dear life as her twin ran for hers.


	54. Alternate ending chap 49

A while later the three siblings collapsed in the grass, staring up at the sky as they caught their breath. Jason had chased his sisters around the yard for a while before Madison had finally gotten free, mostly because he couldn't hold on as tightly with his injured hand, and the girls turned on him. Now, tired and out of breath from running and laughing, they were ready to stop for a while. After a few moments, Jason shifted and propped himself up on his elbow as he turned to look at his sisters.

"So," he said to Madison. "How much do you really like this kid?"

She blushed, but didn't look away.

"A lot," she said. "I really do, Jason. Please don't scare him away…"

"She really does," Vida confirmed. "They've been dating since right after Christmas."

"That long?" Jason said, a little surprised. "And you're still with him?"

Madison reached over and smacked his arm, but Jason just laughed.

"Ok, ok," he said. "So you're serious…But am I at least allowed to prank him?"

Madison rolled to look at him, frowning.

"What kind of prank are you talking about?" she asked hesitantly, not really sure how she wanted to answer that question.

"Oh, I won't hurt him," Jason said with a smirk. "Permanently."

"Jason!" Madison exclaimed.

He just laughed again. Madison rolled her eyes as Vida snickered, too.

"Hey," Jason said as Madison grumbled about him being overprotective. "I get to be the overprotective big brother. I reserve that right. And besides, he's a red. He's going to get pranked one way or another—call it an initiation."

Madison sighed.

"Just don't hurt him," she said.

Jason smiled, falling back in the grass again.

"Jason?" Vida asked a little while later, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" he said, turning his head to look at her.

"We really are sorry for everything we did…" she said quietly. "And we do want to be a part of the rangers…"

He smiled, nodding.

"I know," he said. "And I want you to be a part of this—well, as much as I can, anyways."

The girls frowned, looking at each other.

"What does that mean?" Madison asked.

He sighed, sitting up and leaning forward on his knees. They followed his lead, curling their legs underneath them.

"I never wanted you to be rangers," he admitted, glancing over at them. "It's not exactly a safe thing. And then I found out about the magic and, well—let's just say this hasn't been easy for any of us. It's been hard for me to stand back and let you purposefully put yourselves in harm's way—"

"Because that's what you've always done for us," Madison finished softly.

Jason nodded.

"Exactly," he said.

"We can handle it, big brother," Vida said. "And if we do need help, we'll tell you. Promise."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "And I suppose you're going to keep using magic, aren't you?"

"Umm…yeah," Vida said. "We're all still in training and—well, it's what we want to do. That magic is a part of us now and we don't just want to lock it away again. We want to use it to help people."

"I guess I can't argue against that," he muttered. "But the instant one of you starts using it for other things I'm getting you out of there."

"But Jason," Madison started to protest.

The look he gave her didn't leave any room for argument. She sighed, relenting.

"And we really are going to do something to the rookie," he said, grinning again. "It's become a tradition for the reds to initiate the newest red in some way."

"But you won't hurt him, right?" Madison pleaded.

"Not on purpose," Jason said. "Probably just get him drunk and let him fall all over himself and then wake him up with a hangover in the morning. He can't be any worse than Cole was and is far less likely to hurt himself."

The girls frowned, exchanging confused looks.

"Who?" Madison asked.

"Cole," Jason said. "Wild Force red—he's not exactly the favorite red of the rangers. His first night out with us he ran into a door frame and broke his nose. The door was wide open…"

The girls snickered.

"So when do we get to meet this guy?" Vida asked, still laughing. "And the rest of the rangers?"

"Eventually," Jason shrugged. "But you have already met most of the reds."

"We have?" Madison frowned. "When?"

"Back in high school," Jason said. "We got back to my house to find you two waiting and had to scramble for a quick cover. Good thing Eric thought fast or we'd have been caught…"

His sisters frowned, trying to remember the incident he was talking about. Then it dawned on them.

"Wait—all of those guys are rangers?" Vida exclaimed.

"Every one of them," Jason grinned. "And every one of them a red. So the only reds you haven't met are the ninjas—Shane and Hunter."

"Which they are not happy about," someone interrupted.

Jason, Vida, and Madison turned to see Trent and Kira standing behind them, each holding one of the twins.

"Not in the slightest," Kira agreed. "Not only have they not met any of you, but you didn't even send them a letter when you attempted to contact the rest of us."

The girls frowned.

"Yes we did," Vida said. "But it just kept reappearing on the table… We couldn't figure out what was blocking it so we gave up…"

Kira and Trent exchanged surprise looks.

"Well, Cam and Hunter will be happy to know the shields on their academies are still strong," Trent commented. "Though I'm surprised it didn't go to Blake when it couldn't reach the others. He doesn't live at the academies—normally, anyways."

Kira nodded and then paused.

"Wait," she said. "It couldn't have. If it came around the same time ours did, that was right after Hunter grounded him."

Jason frowned.

"Grounded?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "What did Blake do this time?"

Kira sighed, shaking her head.

"Remember that accident he had just before Christmas?" she said. "The one that had all of the ninjas in an uproar because some idiot ran him off the track?"

Jason nodded.

"Well, it turns out he didn't just sprain his knee like they initially thought," Kira continued. "He actually tore his ACL up pretty badly…"

Wincing, Jason nodded sympathetically. All of the rangers had experienced similar injuries at one point or another—though usually while they were actually active rangers and had the benefit of the healing effects of the morphing grid.

"And you know how Hunter is," Trent smirked.

"Oh, I know," Jason said drily. "Overprotective of his little brother to the extreme."

"Exactly," Kira said. "Between Hunter and the rest of the ninjas they've managed to confine Blake to one or the other of the academies for the duration of his recovery. They don't let him go anywhere without someone keeping eyes on him—whether it's one of them, Sensei, or even some of the students."

Jason laughed, shaking his head.

"Poor kid," he laughed. "That's got to be driving him nuts."

Kira and Trent nodded.

"Yeah, he's got like three months left of his grounding," Trent said. "Or longer if the doctor doesn't clear him for driving."

Vida and Madison, who had been listening in interest, exchanged glances. Both of them were thinking about offering to talk to Udonna about healing spells, but something told them it probably wouldn't be a good idea. So they kept quiet.

"Anyways," Kira said. "We ordered pizza for everyone."

"Dad is paying," Trent added. "He figured he could handle that—especially after I told him what's been going on today…"

Madison and Vida exchanged shocked looks.

"You told your dad?" they said in surprise, looking at Trent.

He shrugged as he and Kira stooped to sit on the grass with them.

"Yeah," he said. "Dad knows everything anyways."

"He was our villain," Kira clarified.

"What?" Vida exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Trent said quickly. "He's not anymore. We saved him."

"Uh-huh…" Madison said, not really sure what to think.

"Long story," Kira smiled. "Do either one of you want to hold the babies? You haven't officially met them yet."

Smiles lit up the twins faces as they nodded eagerly. Holding out their arms, each of the carefully accepted the little girl they were passed.

"The little dark haired cutie you're holding is Jacquelyn Elizabeth," Kira said to Madison. "And Vida, you have Kimberly Leanne. She definitely has her momma's hair."

Vida smiled, cooing down at the tiny baby with the little shock of red hair in her arms. The twins were delighted to hold the tiny twins.

"We didn't even know Hayley was pregnant," Vida murmured, looking down at Kimberly.

Jason exchanged glances with Kira and Trent.

"Tommy tried to come tell you…" he said slowly. "Right after Christmas. But you wouldn't even see him—or call him when he left you a message."

Madison and Vida both flinched. They remembered that day.

"I guess we don't really have any excuse…" Madison sighed. "It's our own fault."

"And we won't argue with that," Kira said, leaning back on her hands.

The twins exchanged guilty looks and Kira sighed.

"But we're moving past it," Kira continued. "And Vida, I'll unblock your number now if you want to give me a real call. I really do think you have talent—I just didn't want anything to do with you after what you did to Dr. O."

"I can understand that," Vida nodded. "And I'll do that."

"Great," Kira smiled.

"Hey, Jason?" Madison said, frowning as she turned to look at her brother.

"What's up, sis?" he asked.

But before she could ask her question, they were interrupted by shouting. Zach was bolting toward them from the forest, waving his arms frantically. At first they couldn't understand him, but as he got closer they finally realized what he was shouting.

"Get inside!" he shouted. "Get the babies inside!"

The group in the grass stood quickly, looking around for the problem.

"Zach, what's going on?" Jason asked, starting to jog over to meet him.

Zach didn't get a chance to explain because the question was answered by the arrival of several new figures. Xander came bolting out of the trees heading across the yard with Nick right on his heels, yelling something at his teammate they couldn't hear from where they were. Coming behind them were three large creatures that Madison and Vida stared at in shock. Ethan was clinging to the back of one of them, laughing as he tried not to fall off. And following behind the whole group was a red blur that turned out to be Conner, trying to herd the raptors back toward the trees—but laughing too hard to be very effective.

"Oh, that's great," Kira muttered. "Who let them out?"

"I don't know," Trent sighed. "But we'd better corral them before they tear up the whole yard…"

They took off across the yard in the direction the raptors and the other young rangers had disappeared.

"Jason, what are those things?" Vida asked, eyes wide.

"Those would be the raptors," Jason said, turning and shooing them toward the house with the babies. "And we're going to go inside before things get rough."

"But what about the others?" Madison asked in concern.

"They'll be fine," Jason said. "The Dino rangers are used to rough housing with the things and they won't let them hurt Xander or Nick—well, not too badly. They can survive a few bumps and bruises, right? Or possibly a concussion?"

"Jason!" the girls exclaimed, glancing behind them one last time in concern.

Trent was disappearing into a shed as Kyra continued running. A moment later, the doors burst open and he came out riding on a white ATV. Gunning the engine, he sped off in the direction of the raptors.

"Oh, good," Jason muttered. "Inside, quick, before they really get riled up."

_**Moving to Briarwood**_

"_Just a little more to the left," Jason said, watching closely as they maneuvered the couch through the doorway. "Little more—careful!"_

_Adam and Tommy both glared at him. Rocky also shot a glare from behind them where he was trying to carry an armchair up the stairs by himself._

"_Hey Jase?" Tommy said, panting from the effort of carrying the couch up the stairs. "Got a question."_

"_Yeah?" Jason asked._

"_How come we're carrying all of the heavy stuff while you supervise?" he said. "They're your sisters—we're just being nice by helping you out."_

_Tommy, Adam, and Rocky were with Jason in Briarwood helping move Vida and Madison into their new apartment. They were starting their first year of college in a couple of weeks and wanted to get settled in before classes started. Xander and Chip were moving in, too—same complex, different apartment. All four of them were also starting a new job later that week at a local record store. _

"_Because," Jason said. "I'm making sure nothing gets knocked over or broken."_

_Tommy snorted. _

"_Yeah, like none of us could take a turn at that," he said._

"_Just hold on a second and you can put it down," Jason retorted._

_They'd gotten it inside the apartment now. Inside, boxes were piled to either side of the door. The rest of the furniture was already in place, the couch being the last thing in the truck. Madison and Vida were darting around the apartment trying to decide where to put everything. Seeing the guys carry in the couch, they hurried over._

"_You can put that right over there against the wall," Vida said. "And Rocky, the chair can go—in that corner."_

_She pointed to the respective places. _

"_Thanks!" Madison added, beaming at them. _

_Moving carefully, Adam and Tommy moved the couch to where the girls directed them and set it down. Rocky set down the chair, too. Sighing in relief, all three relaxed for a moment as they caught their breath. The girls frowned as they looked at the couch. They spoke quietly for a moment, gesturing as they glanced around._

"_Umm…So, we think the couch might look better over there…" Madison said after a moment, pointing to another spot partway across the room. _

_Both Tommy and Adam groaned, but reached down to pick up the couch again. They moved it to where the girls asked them to and set it down again. But Vida and Madison immediately started shaking their heads._

"_It looks better back in the first spot…" Vida said sheepishly._

_Now the two men glared at her. _

"_Sorry…" Madison said, giving them a pleading look._

"_Alright," Tommy sighed. "But you're sure that's where you want it? Because we're only moving it one more time."_

"_Yes," they said together, nodding._

_Reaching down, Adam and Tommy picked up the couch again. Vida was watching them hesitantly. _

"_Well, maybe it is—" Vida started to say._

_But Madison elbowed her and she let it go. The two men moved the couch back to the original spot and put it down. They then plopped down on it, sighing as they leaned back and stretched out their legs. Rocky was already sitting in the armchair he'd brought up. Jason, still standing, crossed his arms as he frowned at his friends._

"_Hey, don't get comfortable," he said. "There are still boxes of stuff by the door to move into the kitchen and their bedrooms."_

"_Nope," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I'm done. Your turn, Rex." _

"_Come on," Jason insisted. "There's not that much more."_

"_Sorry, can't," he said, leaning his head back against the back of the couch. "I'm under strict orders to relax the moment I start to feel faint or lightheaded."_

_Jason frowned._

"_Whose orders?" he said. "And since when do you feel faint or lightheaded? You're fine."_

"_Doctor's orders," he said. "And besides, how do you know if I do or not? For all you know, I could pass out any second. They never did explain that coma last year."_

_Jason snorted._

"_Unexplained?" he said, shaking his head. "Tommy, you shocked yourself into a coma."_

"_But that shouldn't have put me in a coma," Tommy countered, smirking at Jason and crossing his arms. "So, therefore, it is medically unexplained."_

_Jason glared at him as Rocky and Adam exchanged knowing looks. _

"_You did something stupid and landed yourself in the hospital," Jason growled, crossing his arms. "Doesn't mean you can't help now. You're fine."_

"_That's not what my medical records say," Tommy grinned, not making a move to stand. "And that's what we have to go by. Don't make me call my mother—she'll be happy to explain exactly why I should be relaxing."_

_Jason rolled his eyes. _

"_Well, if that's the case," he said. "Then we should be rushing you to the hospital right now."_

_Madison and Vida exchanged concerned glances as Tommy shook his head. _

"_Tommy, are you ok?" Madison asked, moving to sit on the couch next to him. _

_He smiled, slinging and arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick one-armed hug. _

"_Oh, I'm fine," he said. "Well, I'm fine as long as I don't have to pick anything else up—can't do anything too strenuous."_

_Tommy smirked at Jason as Madison and Vida nodded._

"_That's ok," Vida said. "You've helped enough for today. Jason can do something now."_

_Jason frowned._

"_I have done something," he said._

"_Sure you have," Adam grumbled. _

"_Jason, you really haven't done much," Madison said, looking at her brother. "Tommy, Adam, and Rocky carried all of the furniture up—and most of the heavier boxes…"_

"_I have too," he argued. "I helped unload the truck and the other vehicles."_

"_Yeah," Rocky retorted. "Because yelling 'don't drop that' at us is so helpful."_

"_Yeah, yeah," Jason muttered. "But I did help load everything."_

"_No you didn't," Vida countered. "You were too busy making sure Mark didn't hide in a box or behind a piece of furniture in any of the cars."_

_Adam, Tommy, and Rocky were smirking at him, enjoying watching their friend called out by his little sisters. _

"_I—fine," Jason grumbled. "Remind me—why I am I helping you again instead of dad?"_

"_Because dad had to work," Madison said. "Besides, you volunteered."_

_Jason frowned._

"_When exactly did I do that?" he asked. "I don't remember volunteering to do this."_

"_Dad said you did," Vida answered. "So take it up with him."_

_Jason opened his mouth to protest and then decided against it. Tommy laughed and stood up, stretching._

"_Well, this was fun, girls," he said, giving each of them a hug. "But I'm out of here. Hayley's making dinner tonight so I need to get home."_

_The twins exchanged looks and then looked back at Tommy._

"_So you're going to rush all the way home for dinner instead of just eating with us in a little while?" Vida asked._

_He grinned, shrugging. _

"_Hey," he said. "You'll probably understand this better later, but I'm technically still a newlywed. Add that to the fact that I only had about a month with Hayley before I left on a four month dig out of the country. Oh, and school starts in three weeks. I'm spending as much time with her as I can before we're both too busy to see each other for more than passing remarks."_

_Jason, Rocky, and Adam were now exchanging amused looks as the girls just shrugged._

"_Come back and visit soon," Madison said. _

"_Of course," he said. "Help each other with school and don't get yourselves in trouble. And remember—you can always call me if you need me."_

_Hugging them again, he headed out the door. Jason was shaking his head. _

"_Well, guess we're down one for dinner," Vida sighed, looking around. "Why is he in such a hurry to get home?"_

_Jason exchanged amused looks with Rocky and Adam._

"_He's going to go home and make out with his wife like a teenager," Jason grinned. _

_Both of the girls groaned, shaking their heads. _

"_What?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow. _

"_We didn't need to know that," Vida said._

"_You asked," Jason said. "And you're old enough now. Besides, Trini and I do it all the time."_

"_Eww!" the girls cried, grimacing. _

"_That is not something we want to think about," Madison said._

"_No kidding, big brother," Vida added. "Unnecessary information. Tommy is one thing, but you? That's just—ugh."_

_Jason rolled his eyes. _

"_Stop being babies," he said. "How else do you think we ended up with Mark? A stork?"_

"_Stop it!" they exclaimed. _

_Adam and Rocky were laughing so hard by this point that they could barely breathe. Rocky had slid out of the chair and was now shaking in laughter on the floor at the absolute horror on the girls' faces. Adam had just fallen over on the couch, shaking his head. _

"_Jason, no more," Madison said. "Please—we don't need that in our heads."_

"_Alright, alright," Jason said, laughing. "I'm done."_

_They sighed in relief, both still trying to get the conversation out of their heads. _

"_Now," Jason said, looking around the room. "Let's finish moving everything before dinner."_

_Adam and Rocky sobered up, looking at the large stack of boxes just inside the front door._

"_Umm… I forgot I promised Tanya I'd be home for dinner," Adam said quickly, getting up off the couch. "Sorry girls, gotta bail. Have a good school year."_

_Rocky was up, too, following Adam._

"_And he's my ride," Rocky said. "Bye!"_

_They were both gone before Jason could protest. Sighing, he shook his head and turned back to his sisters._

"_Well, I guess you're really helping now," Vida said. "Cause we packed those boxes expecting help."_

"_What does that mean?" Jason frowned. _

"_It means that a couple of them are too heavy for us to lift alone," Madison clarified. "We aren't strong enough to lift them—which is why we were counting on you…"_

_Groaning, Jason rubbed and hand over his face as he turned to look at the pile. He regarded it for a moment and then took a deep breath._

"_Alright," he said. "Let's get stuff moved and get dinner—you two can unpack the boxes later."_

_Nodding, the girls followed him to the pile and they all started moving boxes to the correct rooms. _


	55. Alternate ending chap 50

Several hours later, all of the rangers were crowded into Tommy's living room using every available space to make themselves comfortable. They'd all eaten lunch—Dino Thunder joining them after they'd taken care of the raptors—and now they were just enjoying each other's company. Having gotten past everything that had happened, the various teams were now actually getting along quite well. Especially the younger rangers. Chip was interrogating Ethan about Dino Thunder's genetic abilities—something he found extremely fascinating. Xander was listening as he lounged against the wall, his legs stretched out in front of him.

"Ok," he said. "So you all have different ones, then?"

"Yep," Ethan confirmed. "The gems essentially amplified an inherent ability and changed our DNA so those abilities were enhanced to an extreme level."

"Like Conner's speed?" said Chip.

"Exactly," Ethan nodded. "He can move at superspeed. I have body armor."

"Really?" Chip exclaimed. "How does it work?"

Ethan shrugged.

"Can't demo—unless someone wants to hit me?" he said, glancing around.

All of the older rangers in the vicinity immediately shook their heads, as did Kira and Trent who were curled up in a chair nearby.

"Not a chance," Kira said drily. "Besides, I think one broken hand is enough for one day."

"It's not broken," Jason retorted from across the room.

She just shrugged, leaning her head on Trent's shoulder.

"So what do you two do, then?" Chip asked curiously, looking at Kira and Trent now.

The pair exchanged looks. Sighing, Kira shifted so Trent could stand up.

"Can't hold me unless I'm unconscious," he said, heading toward the hallway.

But instead of walking through the open doorway, he went straight through the wall. Chip's eyes widened even further as Trent came walking back through and returned to his chair.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed, turning eagerly to Kira.

She just shook her head, making room for Trent to sit back down.

"No demos from me," she said. "I'd wake up the babies—not to mention Dr. O and Hayley. Mine is not to be used in the vicinity of the house for the foreseeable future unless there is an actual emergency."

"But what is it?" Chip frowned.

"Sonic scream," Ethan grinned. "She could blow your eardrums if she really wanted to."

"Wow, babe," Xander grinned. "That's one way to keep the boys away."

Kira's eyes narrowed, and Trent looped an arm around her shoulders to keep her in the chair.

"Don't call me babe," she growled. "Or you're going to find out just how sound proof parts of the lab are."

Xander's eyes widened as Chip and Ethan snickered. Close by, Conner and Nick were debating on who had the most trouble with evil teammates.

"But you only had one turn on you," Nick argued. "My team had to deal with several."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to deal with Trent," Conner countered. "Yes, I know. One of your mentors nearly killed you, Vida was a vampire, and you tried to kill your own team. But Trent actually succeeded in trapping Dr. O in amber—he missed school for months because of the whole incident which left us stuck with Anton as our teacher. And he wasn't always so nice at that point…"

At the mention of the vampire incident, Vida, who was sitting on the couch, blanched and shot a look at Jason. He rolled his eyes.

"V, relax," he said. "I already know about that."

"What part of it?" she asked nervously.

"All of it," he said. "Including the part where you put me in the hospital with a concussion."

She flinched, dropping her gaze to her lap where baby Jacquelyn was currently sleeping.

"Sorry…" she muttered.

"Oh, don't be," Kim said, leaning over the back of the couch. "He's had plenty of concussions before—you were not the first to give him one."

"Not even close," Zach snorted. "That one's a toss-up between a monster and Tommy. Take your pick."

Jason glared at Zach, but the other ranger just grinned.

"He's right," Jason sighed after a moment. "Never had a concussion until I became a ranger…Now I couldn't tell you how many I've actually had…"

"Which explains so much," Kim commented, laughing as Jason turned to glare at her.

His sisters giggled, Vida lightening up a little again now that she realized he wasn't mad at her for the incident.

"Hey now," Tommy interrupted from the doorway, catching everyone's attention. "You can't all start ganging up on him—not without me here. I want a say in this."

"Hey! There he is," Justin grinned, not moving from his spot on the floor. "And no longer looking like a hobo."

Tommy looked a lot more awake than he had hours before. He had showered, shaved, and changed into freshly cleaned clothes, too.

"Doesn't smell like one, either," Rocky snorted as Tommy made his way toward the couch.

Pausing, Tommy shot a look at Rocky as Trini came walking back in with a tray of glasses. She had been in the kitchen getting drinks for everyone.

"I'd keep your comments to yourself if I were you, Ape-boy," Tommy retorted. "I still have pictures of what you looked like your first few weeks with newborn twins."

"Can't be any worse than yours," Rocky countered.

"Maybe," Tommy smirked, crossing his arms. "But at least I didn't faint when my kids were born."

Rocky's face immediately turned as red as his shirt as the rest of the rangers burst out laughing.

"He's got a point, honey," Aisha said.

Grumbling, Rocky gave up the argument and Tommy finished crossing the room. When he had entered, all five of the Mystic Force rangers had immediately fallen silent, trying to make themselves unnoticeable. They still didn't know where they stood with Tommy. But he didn't seem fazed, making a beeline straight for the couch where Vida and Madison were once again holding his daughters. Without hesitation, he sat down right between them and put an arm around each of their shoulders.

"So I see my daughters have officially met their godmothers," he said.

"Wait—what?" they exclaimed, looking at him in surprise.

"Godmothers?" Madison stammered.

"Us?" Vida added.

Tommy smiled, nodding.

"Of course," he said.

"What?! I thought I got to be little Kimmy's godmother. I mean you did name her after me," Kim protested rather loudly.

"Actually I named Jackie, Hayley named Kimberly, after her grandmother I might add," Tommy replied looking at Kim with a slight smirk.

Kim sunk further into her seat pouting slightly.

"But Tommy," Madison hedged after a moment. "We—I mean I—what about everything… oh…"

She stumbled to a stop, not quite know what she wanted to say.

"Maddy, it's fine," he said gently, squeezing her shoulders. "I forgave both of you a long time ago—I was just hoping you'd eventually forgive me…"

His smile slipped a little as he regarded them.

"Though I guess your presence in my house says something," he added.

"There's no reason to forgive you," Madison said, adamantly shaking her head. "You didn't do anything wrong!"

"I did once," he said quietly. "All of you had good reason to be afraid of me…"

Tommy's friends were all shaking their heads now. They'd all heard this from Tommy countless times before.

"We aren't afraid of you," Vida asserted firmly.

"But you were," he said softly.

Vida started to argue, but stopped. Madison was biting her lip.

"What we did was wrong," Nick said, speaking up from across the room. "Afraid or not—it was wrong and we know it now. We had no right to attack you the way we did, especially after you saved me…So if anyone needs forgiveness, it's us, not you."

Tommy opened his mouth to reply, but Jason interrupted.

"Tommy, if you say that one more time I swear I'm going to hurt you," Jason growled, glaring at his friend. "We have all told you time and time again that it wasn't your fault. You didn't choose to be under her control, it was forced on you. Therefore, it's her fault, not yours. The only one to blame is her—it was her spell, after all."

Tommy rolled his eyes, but didn't try arguing. Instead, he just leaned back against the couch.

"Thought she was gonna do it again this last time, too," he muttered quietly to himself. "Was pretty sure she had for a while…"

"What?" someone snapped behind him.

Freezing, Tommy realized there was a hand hovering in his peripheral vision holding a glass of water. Trini, who had been passing out drinks, had walked around the back of the couch to hand him and the girls their drinks. Busy talking, he hadn't heard her come up behind him.

"Uh—hi, Trini," Tommy said quickly, turning to look at her and reaching for the water glass.

She snatched it back, glaring at him.

"What was that you said?" she demanded.

"About what?" he asked, trying to sound innocent as he avoided meeting her eye.

"You muttered something just now," she said shortly. "Now what was it?"

"It was nothing," he said.

"Trini, what's going on?" Jason frowned, looking between his wife and best friend.

"He said something about Rita," she said, still holding the water away from Tommy.

Jason looked at Tommy in surprise.

"What did you say?" he asked expectantly.

"Oh, I was just agreeing with you," Tommy said quickly. "About Rita."

Jason snorted, shaking his head.

"Bro, I've been trying to get you to agree with me since high school," he said drily. "There's no way you're suddenly agreeing with me. Now what is going on?"

"Jase, it's nothing—I swear," Tommy said.

The others were all looking at him now, frowns on their faces. None of them liked talking about Rita—especially when it came to anything that involved Tommy.

"Then why are you hiding something?" Jason demanded.

"I'm not hiding anything," Tommy protested.

"Yes you are," Kim argued. "Tommy, did she approach you? We know she's still around."

"What?" he said, glancing around the room. "Approach me? No, of course not. You know I'd tell you if anything happened—"

"Yeah, like years later," Zach scoffed. "If ever. So spill."

"There's nothing to tell," Tommy continued to argue. "I'm not hiding anything. I've just been busy with the girls. And besides, if something had happened you would have noticed me acting weird."

"Tommy, we can't notice you acting weird if we can't see you," Trini countered. "You haven't been around in months."

"I've been busy," he protested again.

"And you've been out of the country," Kat said slowly, her eyes narrowing.

Jason jerked his head back around to Tommy, glaring at him.

"You jerk!" he exclaimed, practically leaping to his feet before stalking toward Tommy. "That's why you left the country? Something happened and you took off instead of telling us? What did she do?"

"Now, Jason," Tommy said, quickly trying to come up with something. "There's no need—"

"What were you thinking?" Jason interrupted. "You can't take off like that. You have responsibilities to the rest of us, not to mention you had just gotten out of the hospital!"

Tommy groaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Is that why Hayley has all of those scans of you down in the lab, Dr. O?" Ethan asked, looking at Tommy. "She wouldn't tell me what they were when I asked."

Jason's eyes narrowed and Tommy grimaced.

"What?" Jason growled. "What scans?"

"Rex, I promise I'm fine—"

"Don't use that line on me," Jason snapped. "We've both been using it since high school and I know it doesn't always mean what it should."

Pausing, he turned toward the doorway.

"Hayley, get in here!" Jason shouted before turning back to Tommy. "Now you are going to tell me what's going on right now before I drag you off that couch and make you tell me."

Before Tommy could answer, both of his daughters started crying. Madison and Vida immediately started rocking them, but they continued to cry.

"Just great, Jase," Tommy muttered, reaching for one of his daughters. "Now they're crying."

"Don't touch the baby," Jason snapped, grabbing Tommy's arm and stopping him from taking baby Kimberly from Madison.

"My daughters are crying, Jason," Tommy said, trying to pull away. "I need to take care of them."

"You're babysitters can handle that," Jason countered.

Not letting go of Tommy, Jason glanced over his shoulder at the younger Dino Thunder rangers.

"Handle that," he snapped. "Tommy is busy. Let's go."

Gripping tightly, Jason pulled the protesting Tommy off of the couch. Barely pausing, he started hauling the other ranger toward the door to the hallway. Conner and Kira had each claimed one of the crying babies, rocking them as they tried to calm them back down.

"Jason, what are you doing?" Hayley cried, hurrying into the room.

"Going to look at the scans in your lab," Jason said, walking right past her with Tommy still in tow.

"Wait—what?" she exclaimed, spinning to watch him go. "Jason, give me back my husband! And don't you dare touch my computers!"

"If you don't want me to break something, then you'd better get down there," Jason retorted over his shoulder without pausing. "Ethan, Billy—lab now."

She glared, but seeing the teens with the babies well in hand, she hurried after them. Jason had disappeared down the hall with Tommy. In the living room, most of the rangers were exchanging concerned glances.

"Should we follow?" Kim asked hesitantly, looking around.

"I don't think we all need to crowd in the lab," Trini said, shaking her head. "Jason will tell us what's going on once he gets it out of Tommy. Although you two should probably go."

Kim sighed, but nodded in agreement as Trini looked pointedly at Ethan and Billy. Both of the blue rangers hopped up from their seats and started making their way out of the living room.

"Guys," Madison said quietly, looking at her team. "They were talking about Mystic Mother. She was Rita, remember?"

The rest of the Mystic Force team's eyes widened in surprise as they realized she was right.

"Let's go," Nick said, jerking his head in the direction Ethan and Billy were heading. "We need to know what's going on."

No one stopped them as they followed Ethan and Billy.

"Wait a minute," Vida frowned as they hurried down the hall. "What lab? Tommy doesn't have a lab. We're heading toward his office."

She looked at Madison, but her sister just shrugged. When they got to Tommy's office, however, there was no sign of any of the other rangers. Instead, they Mystic Force team saw an open trap door in the floor of the office.

"That's new," Madison said in surprise as they paused.

"He's like Batman!" Chip exclaimed, grinning.

The others looked at him.

"Batman?" Xander repeated.

"Yeah," said Chip. "He's got a secret underground hideout. It's awesome!"

"And he was black this time," Ethan snorted, coming up behind him. "So it kind of fits."

He had detoured momentarily before heading downstairs and was just catching up. But he didn't even pause before heading down the stairs the trap door revealed. Seeing him head down without hesitation, the Mystic Force team followed. Downstairs, they found Jason, Hayley, and Tommy arguing as Jason was strapping Tommy to a chair next to a large computer.

"Jason, this isn't necessary," Hayley was snapping, arms crossed as she glared at him. "I ran all of these tests already."

"I don't care," he snapped back, finishing strapping Tommy's arms in. "You both tried hiding this and I want to know what's going on right now. So if you won't scan him then I'm going to."

"Jase, I'm fine," Tommy said, attempting to slip out of the straps.

Jason just growled and shoved Tommy's head against the back of the chair, strapping his head in place.

"Oh, that's comfortable," Tommy muttered, now firmly attached to the chair. "Is this really necessary?"

"Yes," Jason said shortly. "Ethan, how do I work this thing?"

Ethan, who was standing a short distance away watching, froze. He looked back and forth between Tommy and Jason for a moment as he tried to decide which one scared him more at the moment. Tommy sighed.

"Ethan, go ahead," he said. "He's never going to be happy until he sees the scans himself—and I seriously doubt he'll be ok with the old ones…"

Jason scowled, crossing his arms. Hayley was glaring at the red ranger, not happy that he wouldn't accept her word. Still hesitant, Ethan hurried over to the computer the scanner was attached to and started typing.

"Sorry, Dr. O," he muttered quietly as he passed Tommy.

As he started running the scan, Mystic Force took the moment to look around a little more. They were all astounded that Tommy had this place under his home.

"This place is amazing!" Vida exclaimed. "I can't believe you've had this here all along."

"This might even be cooler than Rootcore," Chip agreed, fascinated by the setup of the lab.

Ethan grinned, glancing over his shoulder.

"Our lair is pretty cool," he said. "And it's even better after the rebuild—"

"Ethan," Jason snapped. "Focus."

"Relax, oh great red leader," Ethan said, rolling his eyes. "The scan is done. I'm just waiting for it to finish loading."

As it finished loading, Ethan scooted out of the way to let Jason move in for a closer look.

"Billy?" Jason said, looking over his shoulder. "Interpret?"

Nodding, the blue ranger moved to stand with Jason, studying the scan quietly for a few moments.

"That scan looks a lot different than the one we had," Madison said quietly.

Hearing her, Billy looked at Jason in surprise.

"They had a scan of Tommy?" he said, sounding a little shocked.

Jason nodded grimly, shooting a look at Mystic Force.

"Long story," he growled. "But yes, they did. But it's gone, right?"

"We deleted it," Vida quickly assured him.

"Then that's the end of it," he said shortly, turning back to Billy and the computer. "Now what's going on with Tommy, Billy?"

Billy frowned, pausing again before speaking.

"Most of Tommy's core is the same as it has always been," he began slowly. "Though he has added another layer of color since the last time I saw one of these."

He glanced at Tommy, smiling. Tommy returned the smile, waiting patiently for someone to release him. Turning back to the scan, Billy continued.

"However, while the green portion of his core and personality is still clearly intact," he continued. "You can see that someone has somehow removed all of the outlying remnants of the darker green that represented the latent magic left from Rita's spell. It has been contained here—"

He pointed to small spot in the center of the scan where a small, dark green circle could be seen.

"So, while it has not been actually removed from him," he said. "There appears to be some kind of field containing it to that one place and keeping it from devouring any more of Tommy's life force than it already has."

Jason nodded slowly, frowning.

"So what does that mean?" he asked.

"It means I'm fine, Rex," Tommy said. "Better than I was, actually, because I can't touch the magic even if I wanted to."

Jason spun to look at him.

"What?" he said in shock.

"I can't touch it," Tommy repeated. "It can't hurt me—or anyone else—anymore."

For a moment no one spoke as they all took in what Tommy had said.

"I told you, Jason," Hayley said, crossing her arms as she looked at him smugly. "There's nothing wrong with him."

"But, how?" Jason sputtered, looking between Tommy, Hayley, and the scan.

Tommy shrugged—well, tried to.

"That's where it gets a little fuzzy," he confessed. "I was getting something to eat in the kitchen, heard a noise, and went to investigate because I knew Hayley wasn't home. It was Rita. I know words were exchanged, but I can't remember what was said…The next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital…"

"And don't forget the part where I came home to find you unconscious on the floor," Hayley inserted. "And then had to call 911 to get you to the hospital when I couldn't wake you up."

Jason took a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his face. Everyone else in the room was listening quietly now, not wanting to interrupt Jason.

"So why didn't you tell me, bro?" Jason asked, looking at Tommy. "You should have told me instead of running off to another country."

"Jase, I'm sorry," Tommy sighed. "But we still didn't know for sure what was going on and—well, I was afraid she might have turned me evil again and was waiting to make her move… I had to get away from Hayley before I could hurt her…"

"Wait, what?" Jason snapped, his eyes narrowed again. "You thought there was a chance you could have been under a spell again and you didn't tell anyone?"

"Anton knew," Tommy quickly protested. "He knew what to watch for and had all of your phone numbers just in case something did go wrong."

Jason took a deep breath.

"So you're telling me," he said slowly. "That you were alone with Trent's father—who no longer has the ability to defend himself against rangers—for an extended period of time during which you thought there was a high chance that you might be under someone's control as an evil ranger again? Does Trent know about this?"

"Okay, yes," Tommy muttered. "And no, he doesn't. Not that part anyways…"

Ethan's eyes widened as he looked at Tommy, glancing toward the stairs. Tommy sighed.

"You may as well go tell him," he said reluctantly to Ethan. "I'd rather he hear it from you than Jason…"

Without hesitation, Ethan darted toward the stairs.

"Wait a minute!" Jason protested, watching him go. "The others are going to kill me if they don't hear it from me first!"

When Ethan didn't stop Jason took off after him.

"Jason, don't you dare start a riot up there!" Hayley snapped, stalking after them. "My daughters need to sleep!"

Sighing, Billy quickly hurried after them, muttering something to himself about containing the inevitable explosion as much as possible. That left Tommy alone with Mystic Force. For a moment, no one said anything as they all studied each other.

"So," Tommy said, breaking the silence. "Any chance I can get one of you to let me out?"

Jason had left him strapped to the scanner chair.

"Oh!" Madison exclaimed, jumping forward "Of course."

Vida followed and between the two of them they quickly released Tommy from the seat. He sighed in relief, stretching as he stood up.

"Thanks," he smiled, starting to head toward the end of the lab that was away from the trap door.

"Umm… Tommy?" Madison said. "The house is that way…"

She pointed back toward the stairs.

"Yep, I know," he said. "And the tunnels away from the house are this way. Want to come? I've got some great stories about your brother that I can finally tell you."

Smiles spread across the twins faces and they nodded eagerly.

"Like what?" Vida asked, bouncing over to him.

"All sorts of things," Tommy smirked, pausing by one of the computers.

He hit a couple of buttons and they heard the sound of the trap door closing echo.

"That should stall them long enough to let us get away," he muttered, glancing toward the stairs.

The younger rangers frowned.

"You're running from them?" Nick said in surprise. "Shouldn't you go talk to them?"

"I will—eventually," Tommy said. "For now I'm going to avoid it as long as possible. You guys want burgers? My treat."

The five exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Xander said.

Tommy paused, raising and eyebrow at Xander, but didn't say anything.

"Then let's hurry," he said. "Before Billy or Justin hack into the system and get the door open, as Hayley and Ethan probably won't help them chase me. Besides, I should probably take some time to explain how things like the ranger hierarchy work."

There was a sudden pounding coming from where the trap door was and indistinct shouting. The only words they could clearly make out were someone shouting Tommy's name. He jerked his head toward an arch on the other side of the room and started that way with Mystic Force following.

"Don't we just have to listen to Jason?" Nick frowned. "He's the original red."

Tommy snorted.

"Yeah, but you guys fall under the second generation group," he said. "That means you're mine."

"Second generation?" Chip asked.

Tommy nodded, hitting a button on the wall. It shuddered and slid open to the surprise of Mystic Force. The moving wall didn't faze Tommy, who just walked through and waited for them to join him before closing the door.

"Everyone from Wild Force on is under my jurisdiction," he said as they continued to walk away through the tunnels. "Though I really only have them because I have more patience for Cole's—well, I have more patience for Cole and some of that team's oddities than Jason does."

The younger rangers exchanged confused glances and Tommy chuckled.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure the only reason he agreed to letting my have all of the younger rangers is because that lets him off the hook," he said. "I have all of the teams with special powers and genetic abilities. Pretty sure he doesn't want to be directly responsible for anyone he couldn't just beat into submission if necessary."

Mystic Force laughed, Tommy joining them.

"Anyways," he said. "The point is that you guys report directly to me on anything ranger related. If there is an emergency, you tell me and I go to Jason. Together the two of us will make a decision on what needs to be done. Think you can handle that?"

"I think we can probably manage," Vida grinned, bumping her shoulder against him.

Laughing again, Tommy slung an arm around her shoulder. Catching Madison, too, he continued down the tunnel with them on either side.

"Now let's see," he said, thinking. "What should I tell you about first? Oh! I know."

He grinned, looking Madison.

"Maddy, this one should make you feel better about being turned to stone," he said. "Let me tell you about the time your brother managed to get himself turned to solid gold…"

"So do you think they've gone yet?" Madison asked, glancing over at Tommy.

Tommy and the five Mystic Force rangers were walking back down the tunnels toward the lab and his house. they'd been gone for a couple of hours getting something to eat and talking about everything from things Jason had done and ranger hierarchy to what the younger rangers were doing now. but, knowing he couldn't avoid home forever, Tommy had finally said it was time to head back.

"Not a chance," he sighed, shaking his head. "And they are not going to be happy when we get there…"

The younger rangers exchanged amused looks. Over the past couple of hours they had all gotten a lot more comfortable around Tommy. In general they had avoided the subject of what had happened before, focusing instead on getting to know Tommy as a ranger—not to mention hearing quite a few stories about stupid things the originals had done over their career as rangers. Now, while there were still hesitant moments, everything between Tommy and the younger rangers was a lot better than it had been when they arrived in Reefside earlier that day.

"Here goes nothing," Tommy muttered as they reached the door to the lab.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped inside. Nick and his team followed. Tommy had barely taken a few steps inside when he was suddenly hit by a small figure in pink. He stumbled a bit from the impact of her throwing her arms around him, but managed to keep his balance.

"Umm… hi, Kim," Tommy said, not really sounding surprised.

"You idiot!" she exclaimed, letting go to hit him on the arm.

"Kim, ouch," Tommy grumbled, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him.

The young rangers behind him snickered, glancing around. Kim wasn't the only one waiting for Tommy. Kat was standing a short distance away with her arms crossed as she glared at him, as were Trini, Tanya, and Aisha.

"Don't complain," Kim snapped. "You deserve it for keeping secrets like that from us—again!"

She tried to hit him again, but Tommy caught her wrist this time.

"Now, now, Kimmie," he said soothingly. "You know I would have told you guys if it had really been life or death. Everything is fine—"

"Don't even start with that, Thomas Oliver," Kat interrupted. "You know very well you avoid telling us anything you don't have to because you don't like to worry us. It's been that way ever since I met you. So don't try and talk your way out of this. We could have helped you, you know."

Tommy sighed again, eyeing Kim as he cautiously let go of her wrist.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said. "But all of you gave your word if something like this happened again. I didn't want any of you to worry about having to make that decision… That's why I didn't want to say anything until I was sure…"

The girls all flinched and the younger rangers exchanged confused looks.

"What decision?" Nick asked, frowning.

Tommy took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as he turned to look at them.

"It's a long story," he said hesitantly, not sure what he actually wanted to say.

"But to make a long story short," Jason interrupted, coming from the stairway. "Tommy can be an extremely dangerous individual—especially armed with ranger powers. Add someone else controlling him and we have a big problem."

Jason's face was completely serious as he approached the group. Stopping next to his friends, he paused a moment before continuing.

"Years ago, after the last time someone tried to use him against us," Jason continued. "Tommy made all of us swear that, should he ever fall under someone's full control again, that we wouldn't allow him to hurt anyone."

"Meaning what?" Madison frowned, not liking the sounds of what her brother was saying.

"Meaning," Tommy answered for him. "That if I were to ever fall under the control of dark magic again—no matter who is at fault—that no ranger is to hesitate in taking me down. I'm too susceptible to magic at this point to risk trying trying to break me out. It's not worth the damage I'd do…"

Vida and Madison exchanged wide-eyed looks as their teammates stared at Tommy in shock.

"So they would—you mean—" Vida stammered, looking between Tommy and Jason. "You can't be serious."

Jason nodded grimly.

"We don't have a choice," he muttered, shooting a glare at Tommy. "He covered all of his bases when he extracted the promise from us. Including making sure to cover all future teams by making sure we have to enforce it. And since he made us swear by the Power, we don't have a way out of it without risking leaving innocents at the mercy of who knows what…"

"No," Madison and Vida said together, adamantly shaking their head. "Not happening."

"Let's just hope it never comes to that," Trini said quietly, taking Jason's hand and squeezing it gently. "And it hasn't so far."

"But I don't get it still," Chip said after a moment. "I know we aren't experts, but we've been around a lot of magic and we've never seen anyone react to it like you, Tommy. Even Daggeron wasn't sure what to think."

"And why did it make Jason so mad just to have magic around you?" Xander asked.

For a moment, no one answered. Then Tommy sighed.

"Let's head back upstairs," he suggested. "I want to let Hayley know I'm home. And we'll be more comfortable up there. But I promise, I will explain anything you want to know."

They young rangers nodded and the whole group moved upstairs. The rest of the rangers were still present, laughing and talking in various places around the house as they helped Hayley out with more chores. Moving into the living room, Tommy motioned for the younger rangers to go ahead and make themselves comfortable. Jason had followed and stood in the doorway, his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. The women followed, too, crowding onto the couch together.

"Hey, sweetheart," Hayley said, walking into the living room.

She had heard them coming up. Both of the twins were in her arms, awake and fussing a little.

"Here, let me," Tommy said, taking baby Kimberly from Hayley before anyone else could jump up to help.

Hayley held on to Jacquelyn, sitting down in an unoccupied armchair while Tommy sat carefully on the arm next to her. Kim, who had started to get up to help Hayley, looked a little put out. As she sat back down, more of the rangers started to crowd back into the living room, seeming to realize there was a meeting of sorts starting.

"I still can't believe you want us to be godmothers," Madison said, smiling at the sight of the babies. "Even after all we did."

"Why did you choose them, Tommy, instead of any of us?" Kat asked. "No offense, girls."

She gave Madison and Vida an apologetic glance.

"Because," Tommy said. "I only have two daughters. There are five of you and two of them. You do the math."

Kat exchanged a sheepish look with some of the other women.

"And besides," Tommy continued. "Hayley picked the godmothers, not me. I just picked the godfathers."

"Who are the godfathers?" Rocky asked, leaning on the back of the couch behind Aisha. "You never told us. You didn't pick any of the newbies, did you?"

Tommy snorted.

"No," he said. "I'd pick Conner before I'd pick any of them."

"Hey!" Conner exclaimed in protest, looking at Tommy. "I'd make a good godfather."

He and the other Dino Thunder rangers had just crowded into the the already full room, completing the group. All of the seats were long gone, so most of the rangers were just standing around the room as they waited.

"That remains to be seen," Tommy retorted.

"But to answer part of your question, Rocky," Jason said, shaking his head. "I'm Kimberley's godfather. Tommy didn't tell me who he picked for Jackie."

"Well, he didn't ask me," Rocky grumbled. "Probably did pick Conner and skipped right over the rest of us, right Adam?"

Adam, standing next to Rocky, raised an eyebrow.

"Rocky, I'm Jackie's godfather," he said. "So Tommy didn't skip me."

Rocky looked at him in surprise as most of the others snickered.

"Wait a minute—" Rocky started to protest, looking at Tommy again.

"Just drop it, Rocky," Aisha sighed. "You already have two of your own to worry about."

Still grumbling, Rocky let it go for the moment.

"So, where did the six of you disappear to this afternoon?" Hayley asked Tommy, changing the subject.

"Just to the café," he shrugged. "We took a table in the corner and sat and talked for a while. Covered a lot of ranger business to get Mystic Force on track with the rest of us. Cassidy and Dylan were there so they played distraction for me and kept everyone away from our table. We also talked a bit about you, Jase."

He grinned at the red ranger. Jason, leaning against the doorframe, frowned at Tommy.

"What about me?" he asked suspiciously.

His sisters exchanged grins and then looked at their brother.

"Did you really get turned to gold, big brother?" Vida asked sweetly, though the smirk on her face made it clear she was laughing at him.

"What did you tell them?" Jason demanded, whipping back around to glare at Tommy as everyone else burst out laughing.

"Nothing that's not already public ranger knowledge," he laughed. "They'd have found out eventually."

"Not if I threatened the right people," Jason muttered. "Now I'm never going to hear the end of it…"

"Nope," Madison and Vida chorused.

Still chuckling, Tommy turned his attention back to the younger rangers. Everyone else was waiting now to see what was going on.

"Now, the five of you had a question for me," Tommy said.

They nodded, all looking at each other to see who was going to ask.

"Ok, yeah," Nick said slowly. "We know what we did the night we attacked you was wrong… None of us are trying to claim otherwise."

There were murmured agreements from his teammates.

"But what is the big deal about magic?" he continued. "Why is it such a problem? And around you especially?"

Sighing, Tommy paused a moment before answering. The rest of the rangers waited silently, giving him a chance to explain it the way he wanted to.

"Four of you will remember parts of this," he finally said. "Though all of it will be new to you, Nick. But what do you guys remember about my first year away at college?"

He looked at the four expectantly, waiting for one of them to answer. The four who had grown up in Angel Grove frowned, exchanging looks.

"Not anything specific," Chip said after a moment. "I remember going camping with you once. That didn't end so well…"

Jason grimaced at the memory but didn't say anything.

"Oh!" Madison suddenly exclaimed, her eyes widening. "The pill bottle! You were sick. Or at least that's how mom explained it then. You were addicted to your pain medication and Jason had to live with you for a while."

"I remember that," Vida said, nodding. "Mom and Mrs. Oliver flipped when that pill bottle hit the floor…"

The other three nodded, remembering the incident.

"But what does that have to do with any of this?" Chip asked, frowning.

"Everything," Tommy sighed. "You see, I was never addicted to the medication. I was addicted to magic."

That caught their attention.

"Magic?" Vida repeated in surprise.

He nodded as looks were exchanged around the room. Hayley leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It got really bad for a while," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes. "And when my friends tried to step in, I hurt them. But if they hadn't, I wouldn't be here."

"Oh…" Madison said softly, biting her lip.

"Dark magic isn't something to play with," he said. "As I'm sure you all know. And the magic Rita ensnared me with all those years ago took root and wouldn't let go. With no way to remove it, I had to learn to control it. Sometimes it was harder than others…"

"Like when we came after you…" Nick said guiltily. "That's why you used it."

"Yes," Tommy admitted. "And you're lucky it wasn't worse. I could have seriously hurt or killed someone…"

"And he would never have forgiven himself," Kim said, shaking her head. "Sometimes I think he still hasn't forgiven himself for the things he did to us in high school. No matter how many times he says he's over it."

Guilt flashed across Tommy's face.

"The point is," Jason said, quickly changing the subject. "We got mad about the magic because we were afraid of what it might do to Tommy's control. None of us ever wanted to see him like that again."

"But you don't have to worry about it now," Xander pointed out. "Mystic Mother fixed it."

Most of the older rangers scowled at him.

"She didn't fix it, she trapped it," Ethan corrected. "It's well past fixing. Even we know that and we weren't there for everything."

"Ethan, it's fine," Tommy said, shaking his head. "I can't hurt anyone with it anymore and that's what's important. Though Jason did point out I owe you an apology, Trent."

Trent shrugged, not looking too upset.

"You wouldn't have taken him if you really thought you might hurt him," he said. "Dad trusts you and so do I."

Tommy smiled, relieved to know Trent wasn't mad at him.

"So everything is settled, then," Hayley said, smiling as she continued to lean against Tommy. "And Tommy promises not to take off again without an explanation—right?"

She sat up, looking at him expectantly. He sighed, but nodded.

"Good," she said. "Because keeping that secret from all of your friends was far too much stress for me. Next time I'm just going to give them your tracking numbers and let you hash it out with them."

He rolled his eyes, but didn't argue.

"Tracking numbers?" Madison said, raising an eyebrow.

Hayley nodded.

"Yes, we all have them," she said. "Just in case. GPS chips embedded in objects like morphers or phones. We've never actually needed to activate them, but it makes a lot of us feel better knowing we can find someone should they go missing. You two have numbers, too."

She looked at Madison and Vida. Eyes widening, they looked at each other and then back at Hayley. Tommy chuckled.

"It wasn't intentional," he explained. "But do you two still have those silver bracelets I gave you three years ago?"

They nodded.

"Those were prototypes for the Dino morphers," he said. "I personalized them for you, but never took the GPS chips out. So, once you became rangers, we just added the numbers to the system."

"But we've never used them," Trini quickly reassured them. "We promise."

The girls still looked hesitant, though their teammates seemed amused. Vida shot a glare at them.

"So when are you going to plant chips on them?" she asked, gesturing to the boys.

Tommy shrugged.

"Whenever you want them," he said.

"Even on the green?" Zach grinned. "I thought you'd be okay with losing him."

Tommy shot a glare at him and Xander sighed.

"Ok, I know you don't like me," he said, facing Tommy. "But I still don't understand why. Will you please tell me what I did wrong so I can at least apologize?"

For a moment, Tommy didn't say anything. Most of the rangers were watching him now, curious to know the answers themselves. He'd never told anyone why he had a problem with Xander. Finally he sighed.

"You broke something years ago," Tommy said reluctantly. "You hid the evidence and I took the blame for the missing item. Jason didn't talk to me for weeks and if Maddy hadn't gotten into trouble I don't know if he ever would have again…"

Frowning, Jason looked at Tommy as he tried to think of what the other ranger was talking about. Then it dawned on him.

"The birthday party?" he said in surprise. "So you really did have a present for Maddy?"

Madison frowned, vaguely remembering the incident.

"You saved me in the park," she said slowly.

He nodded. Xander, on the other hand, was looking extremely guilty now.

"I had forgotten about that…" he said sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Tommy. Really. But why didn't you ever tell anyone I broke the present?"

"I didn't get a chance to before they opened presents," he said, eying Xander. "And then it would have just been your word against mine. It doesn't look good when I start blaming a seven year old."

Madison was frowning now, arms crossed as she glared at Xander. Catching her look, he turned to face her.

"You owe me a present," she announced. "I don't know what it was, but you owe me a present."

Xander groaned.

"But I don't even know what it was…" he muttered.

"A music box," Tommy smirked. "It was a music box."

"Oh!" Madison exclaimed, smiling. "Xander, you owe me a music box."

"Where am I going to find a music box?" he grumbled, though he didn't argue.

The other rangers were laughing in amusement.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Chip laughed. "Either that or Maddy's going to be mad at you now, too."

Xander just groaned again. Shaking his head, Tommy glanced at the clock.

"So, not that I'm not glad to see everyone," he said. "But how long are you all going to be here?"

"Don't worry, Falcon," Jason said. "We'll leave you alone after dinner. Though I can't promise everyone will stay away long. They want to see your girls."

He grinned as Tommy sighed. Vida suddenly straightened as Jason's comment reminded her of something.

"Jason," she said, glaring at her brother and crossing her arms.

"Yeah?" he said hesitantly, not sure about the sudden change in her attitude.

"Just when are you going to introduce us to our niece?" she demanded. "She's almost one and we've never seen her in person."

"Oh, right," Jason said sheepishly. "Well, you're welcome to come visit any time… And I guess we can probably find a weekend to come visit soon."

"How about tonight?" Madison suggested, glancing at Nick and the other boys. "You guys don't need us to come back to Briarwood, do you?"

Nick shook his head.

"Go ahead," he said. "You have your flyers so you can get home, right?"

They both nodded.

"Shrunk and in our pockets," they said.

"And goodness knows we have enough clothes at mom and dad's still," Vida added.

Trini smiled.

"Then it's settled," she said. "You'll come home with us tonight and get to meet Rose tomorrow when we pick her and Mark up."

Madison and Vida grinned excitedly. Tommy was still shaking his head at Jason.

"You know, Rex," he said. "Most people would find it extremely problematic that your sisters met their goddaughters before their own niece."

"Shut up, Falcon," Jason grumbled, glaring at Tommy.

The girls giggled.

"Don't you two start," he said. "I—"

"Wait a minute," Vida said. "Rex? Falcon?"

"Yeah?" Tommy and Jason said.

Groaning, Vida smacked a hand to her forehead.

"How did we miss that?" she muttered. "You two have been calling each other those names for years."

"What's your point, V?" Nick frowned.

"Rex," she said, raising an eyebrow. "As in Tyrannosaurus Rex?"

"And Falcon!" Chip exclaimed, catching on. "But why Falcon? You were green first."

Tommy shrugged.

"The Falcon powers were made for him," Kim said fondly, smiling at Tommy. "So, while he loved being the green ranger after we freed him, it always seemed to fit more."

The younger rangers nodded.

"I still can't believe we didn't notice," Madison sighed, shaking her head.

"We didn't want you to," Jason said. "We've always been extremely careful not to use those names when the power rangers were being discussed."

Madison just sighed, shaking her head ruefully.

"Don't worry, Maddy," Nick said. "We all missed the signs all those months ago. We should have realized it was them all along. Guess they're just too good at keeping secrets."

Jason smirked, looking at the pair.

"Comes from years of practice," he said. "Oh. And speaking of secrets. Maddy?"

"Yes?" sh said hesitantly.

"You have about thirty seconds to tell Tommy before I do," he grinned, glancing meaningfully at Nick.

She paled, eyes widening as her head whipped around to look at Tommy. He frowned, looking back and forth between her and Jason.

"Tell me what?" he asked.

"Umm…" Madison said hesitantly. "Well… Nick and I—we…we're dating and have been since after Christmas."

The last part came out all in a rush. For a moment nothing happened as Nick looked nervously at Jason and then Tommy.

"Good to know," Tommy said slowly, regarding Nick. "Kim?"

He shifted, starting to stand. Kim hurried over, happily taking baby Kimberly from Tommy. Hayley sighed, rolling her eyes as some of the other rangers started snickering. Jason grinned and Madison looked at the two men pleadingly.

"Tommy, be nice," she begged.

"I will be," he said. "I just want to see how well he can actually defend you—and how hard he's going to fight for you."

"What?" she said, frowning.

Grinning, he strode over and scooped her up. She squeaked in surprise as he threw her over his shoulder and headed out the door.

"Hey!" Nick exclaimed, spinning to watch them go. "Where are you taking her?"

"Away," Tommy called back over his shoulder as some of the other rangers started to trail after him. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Tommy, put me down!" Madison exclaimed, laughing a little as she tried to get away.

"Better get moving, rookie," Jason grinned. "Let's see what you're made of."

Glancing back and forth between Jason and the direction Tommy had disappeared in with Madison, Nick took a deep breath and took off after Tommy. Smirking, Jason followed.

"Oh, this is gonna be good good," Zach laughed, following.

Dino Thunder and several of the other rangers were heading out the door, too, joking about what Tommy was going to make Nick do to get Madison back.

"Hayley, what is Tommy going to do?" Vida asked in concern, looking at Hayley.

Sighing, Hayley shook her head.

"Probably fight him and Jason to get to her," she said, moving to look out the window. "But don't worry, they won't beat on him too much."

Groaning, Vida spun and bolted for the door with Xander and Chip following.

"Tommy! Jason!" Vida shouted. "Two on one is not fair!"

Laughing, Hayley and watched out the window with some of the others who had stayed inside as the group outside continued shouting. They could see Tommy and Jason laughing as they kept Nick from getting to Madison. The other three Mystic Force rangers tried to jump in and help rescue Madison, but were stopped by the Dino Thunder rangers.

"Just wait, sweetheart," Hayley said, smiling down at her daughter. "Someday that's going to be you watching your daddy test your boyfriends."

Kim, holding baby Kimberly, starting laughing.

"Yes," she agreed whole heartedly. "Yes it will."


End file.
